The Sole Survivor Series
by 364th Legion
Summary: I never imagined that they'd do it; launch the bombs. Now that they have, I am forced to deal with my wife's murder and finding my son, all while having a chance to make this post-apocalyptic Commonwealth a better place by any means necessary. It is not the world I wanted, but it is the world I found myself in. Anyone who tries to get in my way is going to lose. I guarantee it.
1. Part 1 War Never Changes

**A/N: So if you know me, then you know that I'm a huge Fallout fan. I got to play through Fallout 4 and I must say, it's so far my favorite game. I couldn't ask for a better game by Bethesda. Now, I know that my other story for Fallout 3 is incomplete, mostly because I've lost interest in it at the moment (because of Fallout 4 and life in general), but I'll be focusing on this one now because I love immersion, and Fallout 4 gives just that feel of immersion. The best part? I don't have to change my character's name, because my name is Nathan and nickname is Nate. Keep in mind, until I get a better word processor, my grammar may be a little off, but generally, I go back and check my writing. Thank you for giving this a chance and enjoy!**

 **The Sole Survivor Series**

 **Part 1 - A Soldier Reborn**

 **Chapter 1: War Never Changes**

My eyes were closed as I let the warm spray of a hot shower pound against my skin. Luxuries like a hot shower were rare when I was serving in the Army. Plus, I was there on the Alaskan Front line when the Chinese occupied Anchorage, so bathing was always bittersweet. I sighed as I started to go over a rough version of a speech I was going to give later on today. I had seen war, fought through many campaigns, so I knew that….

 _War. War never changes._

 _In the Year 1945, my great-great grandfather, serving in the army wondered when he'd get to go home to his wife and son he'd never seen. He got his wish when the U.S ended World War II, by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki._

I turned off the nozzle and got out of the shower.

 _The World awaited Armageddon; instead, something miraculous happened. We began to use atomic energy not as a weapon, but as a nearly limitless source of power._

 _People enjoyed luxuries once thought the realm of science fiction. Domestic robots, fusion-powered cars, portable computers. But then, in the 21st century, people awoke from the American Dream._

I finished drying off myself before putting on some clothes.

 _Years of consumption lead to shortages of every major resource. The entire world unraveled. Peace became a distant memory. It is now the year 2077. We stand on the brink of total war, and I am afraid. For myself, for my wife, for my infant son - because if my time in the army taught me one thing: it's that war….._

"War never changes," I spoke into the mirror as I wiped away the fogginess, revealing my features. Looking back at me was a twenty five year old man with athletic physique. I had rested amber eyes and dark brown hair that would once dried off completely, would shape back into it's normal self looking similar to a Dapper hairstyle that a hairdresser would give people. In the army, my hair was shaved and kept short. But now, I was a little more free to keep it how I wanted it.

"You're gonna knock them dead at the Veteran's Hall tonight hun," I heard my wife say as she walked in putting her dirty blond hair in a "Wendy The Welder" hairstyle as she liked to call it. Her pale blue eyes looked at me with a type of love I wouldn't find anywhere else.

"You think?" I asked her.

"Absolutely," She spoke with that playful tone, "Now get ready and stop hogging the mirror."

"Right," I said as I looked at my facial hair, "What do you think hun? Beard or no beard?"

"Keep it," She said with that smile that could melt my scarred and hardened heart, "It makes you look like...a roughish lone wanderer." Her seductive tone always got to me, and she knew it. She and my son were my whole world. "My turn big guy," She said gently maneuvering me out the way, "Mhm...Someone's been hitting the gym."

"You know it," I replied as she checked out herself in the outfit she was wearing.

Even though she had an average body in terms of health in weight, she asked me something that she used to do when we first met as teenagers. "Do these clothes make me look fat?" She asked.

"No," I replied coming up and wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her closer to me, "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met in my life." She gave me a look I could enjoy right before she and I kissed. "How about you finish getting ready and I see if Codsworth has finished breakfast?"

"Alrighty then," She spoke before turning back around to check her hair. I walked out the bathroom and into the kitchen where our Mr. Handy Robot named Codsworth had a coffee pitcher of coffee.

"Ah good morning sir!" Codsworth said pouring the coffee in a coffee mug for me, "Your Coffee! 173.5 Fahrenheit. Brewed to perfection! And today's Newspaper just delivered! And I have finished preparing you and Mrs. Nora's breakfast. There are eggs, bacon, and pancakes ready for you on the stovetop."

"Thank's Codsworth," I said nonchalantly as I picked up my coffee mug and drank some of it.

"Of course sir," Codsworth said as he put down the pitcher and began to wash the morning dishes. Nora walked in behind me, going over and reading the newspaper.

"Hmm," She said smiling, "Weather's going to be perfect today. Not too many job ads though."

"Why don't you apply at Cambridge Police Station or the Boston Law Firm?" I asked.

"I will," She said, "But I don't want to leave Shaun unattended with Codsworth for an extended period of time. No offense Cods."

"None taken ma'am," Codsworth spoke, "I understand that advanced childcare was not included in my programming, so I cannot provide adequate care for him for an extended period of time. Maybe you could have gotten the more advanced model suited for childcare such as a Nurse Handy."

"Codsworth please," Nora said, "You're irreplaceable. And besides, what kind of parents would we be if we let a robot do all the work for us?"

"Well I could lay myself off," I tried to compromise with my wife, "Spend more time with Shaun?"

"But you love doing what you're doing," Nora said, "Even though sometimes I don't fully understand what it is you do as a freelance. I know part of it has something to do with engineering."

"Yeah," I replied, "Part of it."

"What is it that you do anyways?" Nora asked, "I know a lot of it is complicated right?"

"Yeah," I answered again, "I'll give you the short version though. I program people's Robco Robots for half the price, build engines, and recently, I came up with modification ideas for a plasma handgun that is soon to be issued to my old Spec Ops detachment." That was the thing about me, I wasn't just in the Army. I used to be a Green Beret. Before that, I was a Ranger. That's what happens when you're good at your job and you're a good tactician. You get detachment offers in wartime all over the place. There was a deal struck for me involving General Chase. After we had liberated Anchorage, I was finally released of my government contract and able to go home to my wife. General Chase even had a simulation created based off of my unit's operation there for simulation training military recruits.

"Bet you can't wait to show Shaun some things growing up," Nora said.

"No I can't," I agreed. At that moment, there was an eruption of cries from a baby down the hallway.

Codsworth was already on it. "Ah, sounds like somebody made a stinky," He spoke over Shaun's cries, "I shall attend to young Shaun." With that, Codsworth made his way down the hall.

Nora looked up thoughtfully laughing slightly. "You know, I was nervous at first," She said, "But Codsworth's really good with Shaun."

"Yeah he is," I replied. At that moment, our doorbell rang.

"Can you get that?" Nora asked me, "It's probably that salesman again."

"Salesman?" I asked slightly confused.

"Yeah," Nora said, "He's been coming for you every day for the last week now. I've been meaning to tell you, but with taking care of Shaun and the neighbors visiting, I forgot. Sorry."

"It's fine," I replied getting up and going to the door. I opened the door revealing a man in a yellow trenchcoat outfit and fedora on.

"Good Morning!" He greeted with a chipper tone , "Vault-tec calling! Is your name Nathan Church?"

"Good morning," I replied back trying to be polite, "And yes it is."

"Isn't it?" He replied, "Just look at that sky out there!" He cleared his throat. "You can't begin to know how happy i am to finally speak with you. I've been trying for days. It's a matter of utmost urgency, I assure you."

"What's so important?" I asked confused.

"Why nothing less than your entire future!" He said enthusiastically, "If you haven't noticed sir, this country has gone to heck in a handbasket." There was a slight awkward silence. "If you'll excuse my language. The big kaboom is….it's inevitable, I'm afraid. And coming sooner than you may think, if you catch my meaning. Now, I know you're a busy fellow, so I won't take up much of your time; time being a, um, a precious commodity."

"Okay so what is a Vault-Tec salesman here for?" I asked already knowing the answer. He was here to try and sell me a spot in a Vault somewhere around here.

"I'm here, to tell you that because of your family's service to our country," He replied with a little dramatic flare, "You have been pre-selected for entrance into the local Vault, Vault 111."

That was a shocker. I wasn't expecting something like this. The last time a Corporate entity came to me was when I had to fill out paperwork for West-Tek, while in the military for acquisition of T-51f Power Armor. "Uh….that sounds great!"

"Oh it is," The Vault-Tec Rep replied, "Believe you me. Now you've already cleared for entrance, in the unforseen event of, ahem…..total atomic annihilation. I just need to verify some information, that's all."

"Tell me more about this vault," I spoke.

"Oh it has all the ammenities of the modern home, I assure you. Not to mention total protection from nuclear radiation and hostile mutants. A better future, underground. It's not only our mission, it's our passion."

"Okay then," I said, "Let's get this over with."

"Splendid!" The Vault-Tec Rep spoke, "Splendid. Now let's see…..read this and sign whenever you're done."

I went through the papers, which had extensive background checks on me and Nora, all which were provided by the United States Armed Forces. Apparently Vault-Tec had received a recommendation for me via a commanding officer. "There you go," I said.

"Wonderful!" The Vault-Tec Rep said as he looked over the signature, "That's everything…just gonna walk this over to the Vault." He started to back up. "Congratulations on being prepared for the future!"

"Um….thanks again." I said before closing the door. I looked at Nora with a perplexed look. "Well that was interesting…"

"Hey," She said from the couch, "It's a peace of mind. That's worth a little bit of paperwork isn't it?"

I walked over, leaned down and held her around her waist from above. "For you and Shaun," I spoke, "No price is too high."

She chuckled. "Good answer," She spoke, "Though you mentioned something about pricing when we got family pictures."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied comically before giving sharing a kiss with her, "Besides, I have my moments." Shaun's cries started again.

"Uh oh," Nora said, "Sound's like he's still cranky."

"I'll take care of it," I said getting up, "You just relax a little dear."

"Mr. Nathan," Codsworth uttered coming from down the hall, "Shaun has been changed, but he absolutely refuses to calm down. I think he needs some of that "paternal affection" you seem to be so good at."

Nora laughed. "You heard the robot," She said with a smile, "Our little boy needs his big strong daddy."

"Right," I said smirking. I walked in Shaun's room looking at a very unhappy baby. I picked him up holding him upright, his head against my shoulder speaking to him in the softest, reassuring tone I could. "There, there you're alright. Calm down son." His cries softened. "That's it Shaun." He finally quieted down as I slowly walked around the room looking at all the toys Nora and I had bought for him for when he gets older. I couldn't wait to see him grow up. I wanted to teach him to ride the tricycle and eventually a bicycle. Then, I'd teach him how to play baseball, driving a car, and eventually shoot his first gun. His mom would probably help him with his homework and teach him things only she could. I wasn't sure what those things were, but the thought of raising our child was more than enough for me. Nora and Shaun were my whole life, my whole world. I was living the American Dream.

I laid him back down in his crib and started to wriggle my finger in front of his tiny arms. He started to try and grab at it burbling playfully. "How are the two most important men in my life doing?" I looked over to see Nora leaning against the doorway.

"Playing," I said.

"Boys will be boys," She said jokingly, "Spin the mobile that you just fixed. He loves it."

"Why of course my dear," I said before looking down at my son who was a little busy body trying to get to the said Mobile. I wound it up and let it spin. He started to laugh about it trying to get to it. She joined me at the crib, her standing on the other side. "Hey...how's my little guy? Much better than before huh?" His tiny limbs were all over the place.

"He's going to be a little busy-body," I said smirking.

"Just like his dad," Nora concluded. "Hey listen. I was thinking after breakfast, we could head on down to the park for a bit. The weather should hold up."

"Will it be like that night in the park a year ago?" I asked slyly. That was the night that would conceive Shaun. She started to grin and respond before something stopped her.

"Sir! Mum!" Came Codsworth's voice, "You should come and see this!" There was alarm in his voice. I heard the unmistakeable sound of low flying Vertibirds and that was what made me move beforehand.

"Codsworth?" Nora asked, "What's wrong?"

I walked down the hall hearing a TV reporter on our Television giving a report. Codsworth's attention was directly on the Television.

" _...Followed by….yes flashes, blinding flashes. Sounds of explosions. We're trying to get confirmation."_

"What?" Nora asked from behind as she carried Shaun in her arms, "What did he say?"

"Hang on hun," I said my heart pounding. I hoped it wasn't what it sounded like.

" _We've lost contact with our affiliate stations,"_ The Anchorman said, " _...wait….we do have, we do have coming in….that's uh, confirmed reports. I repeat confirmed reports of nuclear detonation in New York and Pennsylvania…..My God."_ The anchorman buried his face into his hands in worry before the TV lost signal. My heart hammered as hard as it had when I was in Anchorage.

"Oh my god," Nora said in shock. Incoming warning sirens started to sound.

"We need," I stuttered, "We need to get to the Vault! NOW!"

"I"ve got Shaun," She said holding him close, "Let's go!"

"Codsworth," I said as I walked towards the door, "Stay safe buddy."

"And your family as well," Codsworth replied.

I left him there, rushing out the door with Nora and Shaun beside me. I looked up seeing a Vertibird with a loudspeaker attached to it. The loudspeaker spoke over the whirring rotating blades of the vehicle. " _Residents of Sanctuary Hills. If you are registered, evacuate to Vault 111 immediately."_

It was Chaos. All our neighbors, were in a panic. Some held one another, others trying to pack and evacuate, and the rest were running towards Vault 111. Vault 111 was up a dirt path that went up a slope. At a nearby gate was a crowd of people trying to get though. But there were military personnel guarding the other side. The officer had a clipboard while there were two soldiers in T-60b model Power Armor armed with a Minigun or laser rifle.

I heard a familiar voice. "That's absurd!" The representative said, "I AM Vault-Tec!"

"You're not on the list," The officer said, "you're not getting in."

"I'm going in!" The Vault-Tec Rep said, "You can't stop me!"

He went to go through only to be stopped by the unmistakable whirring sound of a rotating minigun. "Sir!" The T-60b clad soldier warned.

"Whoa!" The Representative said holding his hands in the air, "Okay, okay! I'm reporting this!" And he ran through the crowd.

I fought through the crowd with Nora and Shaun behind me. "Stay close to me!" I said having to shove someone out the way. The crowd was getting more crowded.

"If you're in the program step forward!" One of the power armed clad soldiers yelled over the crowd, "Otherwise, return home!"

"Hey!" I yelled having to shove another person out the way, "We're on the list!"

"No!" A random person said, "That's not fair!"

"Let's us all through!" Another said from the fence side, "I'm climbing over! Come on!"

"Stay back!" the laser rifle wielding soldier ordered. "Don't come over that fence!" He got to the top and one leg over before a shot rang out stopping the desperate man immediately. He fell to the ground, dead.

"We're registered!" I said again as Shaun started to cry. I heard Nora trying to calm him, which was so far successful, "We're on the list."

"Name?"

"Last name Church!"

"Church?" The officer said looking for the names, "Ah, a family of three. Infant, adult male, adult female. Okay go ahead."

"Thank you," Nora said as we passed by.

"Good luck ma'am," The soldier spoke, "and God help us all."

"Everyone we have to get through together!" I heard one of the people yell, "If we rush them, they can't take us all!"

"Yeah!" Another said.

"Stay back!" The soldier with the minigun warned holding the rotary trigger.

"Now!" The first man in the crowd yelled. They started rushing.

"Open fire!" THe officer ordered. The Minigun clad soldier unleashed a spray of 5mm bullets mowing down the incoming group and a couple bystanders. Screams of horror erupted, leaving me uneasy.

"Get to the Vault now!" The other soldier ordered.

"You two follow me!" A security guard yelled. He was in a jumpsuit and riot gear.

"What's going to have to the rest of the survivors at the gate?" Nora asked as we jogged behind the security guard. The Vertibird that had the loudspeaker attached landed near our path.

"We're doing everything we can," The security officer replied, "Now keep moving!" We came up on a platform where there was a small crowd of people waiting. "Step onto the platform in the center!"

We obeyed, stepping onto a large cog shaped platform with white writing on it that said, "VAULT 111". I recognized some of the group that were on there. Especially the Whitfields.

"Alright that's all we can get!" The security guard yelled, "Send it down!"

Nora looked at me with a fear I didn't want to see in anyone. I held her close to me, positioning Shaun in between us. "We're almost there," I told her comfortingly, "I love you so much…...both of you."

"We love you too," Nora spoke back putting her head on my shoulder. I felt wetness on my shoulder. She was crying. I couldn't blame her. I would too. Then there was a loud distant "BOOM" that echoed from far away causing everyone on the platform to jump in fright. Nora turned to look as well

"Oh my god!" Nora yelled in fright.

A mushroom cloud formed as the explosion sent a shockwave of force towards us.

"Send them down now!" I heard a Vault security officer yell.

"HOLD ON!" I yelled grabbing her and wrapping her in my arms with Shaun still between us. She put her head down closing her eyes. I stared at the incoming blast as we were lowered down.

"Can't this thing move any faster?" Mr Whitfield said.

"Oh, god, oh god, oh god," Mrs. Whitfield prayed. The shock wave was coming rapidly, plowing through Boston. I watched as within ten seconds of its detonation, it was about to reach the nearby town of Concord. That's when I looked up and we were finally lowered enough to where another Vault Cog door began to close. I saw as the energy of the shockwave pass over us harmlessly until the topside Vault door shut completely. The ride down took about a minute.

Nora was breathing heavily. "We did it…" She said sounding as if to reassure not only me and Shaun, but herself. "We made it. We're okay."

"Yeah," I reassured as the elevator came to a stop revealing a large gt that fit the shape of the flooring. It started to lift.

"Everyone please step off of the elevator and proceed up the stairs in an orderly fashion," A security guard said. A man was standing behind him, with a slightly different jumpsuit on.

"No need to worry folks!" He said reassuring, "We'll get everyone situated in their new homes. Vault 111. A better future. Underground."

"So we just….?" Mr. Russell started, but was too shocked to continue.

"Yes," The security officer replied nodding, "Up the stairs."

"I can't believe it," Mr. Able said, "If we had left a minute later….we'd all be…."

"No," The second Vault official said, "no. Don't get caught up thinking about that. You're safe now. Everyone, just head up these stairs and right through the door there."

"I need a minute," Mr Whitfield said leaning against a nearby wall at the staircase.

Everyone else followed the first in line up the stairs. We walked along the walkway through another Cog shaped door frame. If it wasn't for the fact that we just escaped annihilation, I probably could have admired the tech and engineering of the door. I could hear the sounds of a computerized artificial intelligence speaking over an intercom. " _Vault-Tec is here for you. All new residents, please proceed in an orderly fashion. Welcome home."_

As we passed by, various Vault staff members were taking notes. There was a long line of people who were getting checked off and receiving a jumpsuit. We passed through a medical screening device just beforehand. We were last, with the exception of the Whitfields.

"Hmm," The staff member said looking at a computer. "The scanner said you're a jumpsuit size M-XL. Here you go." She handed me a jumpsuit, then turned to my wife and son.

"Aw what an adorable little baby," She said looking warm hearted, "Your infant's too small for a jumpsuit, but it doesn't matter. It'll grow into one eventually. I'm so happy you three have made it."

"Thanks," Nora said relief washing over her features finally. It seemed that she finally was relaxed now. It was easier for me, because of my days of life threatening situations."

"Uh….what now?"

"Follow the Doctor," The woman said, "He'll help you out."

"Alright you three," He said in an assuring tone, "Follow me."

We started to follow him just as Shaun decided to make a few baby noises, probably from the sudden change in motion, sounds, and whatnot in the passed ten minutes. "See," Nora said to him, "This is our new home."

"Oh you're going to love it here," The doctor said, "This is one of our most advanced facilities. Not that the other's aren't great mind you."

"It's gone," A new resident said to a vault staff member while holding his wife as we passed by, "All of it. Our home is gone."

"My mother lives down in D.C," The wife said, "How will we know if they made it or not?" I looked pass them through a window to see several pods.

"How long do you think we'll be down here?" Nora asked the doctor as we continued down the hall of high tech equipment and architecture.

"Oh we'll be going through all of that in orientation," The doctor replied as we entered a room full of pods, where many new residents were talking to Vault staff members about life in the Vault. Some were changing in front of everyone, others were still in different stages of shock. I looked back at Nora encouragingly. "We just have to get through a few medical items we have to get through first. We got to the very end of the Pod room before the doctor spoke. "Okay now," He said, "Just put your Vault suit on and you can step into the chamber."

I held Shaun, so Nora could change, then she took him back so I could. Shaun started to whine. "Shh, shh," Nora said, "It'll be okay, daddy's right here."

"Who's my little guy?" I asked running my finger across his cheek, "Hmm? I'm not going far. I'll just be over there."

"All set?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "Nora?"

"What about Shaun?" She asked the doctor.

"Oh don't worry," THe doctor replied, "We set this pod right here for medical examination for two. It's calibrated just for you. Good thing you got here, otherwise it would've been a waste. Go right on in." I obeyed, getting in the pod and watched Nora getting in the one across from me. "The Pod will decontaminate and depressurize you before we head deeper into the Vault. Just relax." He stood in front of my pod pressing a button. The pod shut down. I looked at Nora as she looked down at Shaun then at me.

"Time for a whole new life," I said to myself.

" _Resident secure,"_ A voice said, " _Occupant Vitals: Normal. Procedure complete…..in 5….4….3...2...1"_ As it counted down, it got colder and colder before ice formed on the view port. Every second that counted down, I started to feel more tired and finally, my eyes closed as I fell asleep in cold slumber, and everything went white. Not a moment passed by and I started to wake up with groggy realization. The Vault computer was still talking. " _Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended."_ The whiteness began to fade into blurry vision. I realized that the viewport had ice all over the rim. I could see Nora across from me looking down at Shaun before moving slightly. She looked up at me shivering. I had never heard of Cryostasis used for medical scans. I noticed that there was a figure in a white suit. It was a high tech Hazmat suit of some sort.

"This is the one right here," the woman said pointing at my family's pod. Her voice was confident and intelligent, but didn't seem too thrilled about something. Another person came into view, this one having dark clothing on with specialized armor on. He had what looked like an assault rifle of some sort strapped to his back.

"Open it," He said. His voice was very distinct, very guttural in a way. This guy knew what he was doing. He seemed like the type of man who had seen death or had caused death. His features were something I couldn't forget. He was an older looking man, balding, and had a scar running across his left eye from his forehead to his cheek.

As soon as the Hazmat suited figure opened the pod I heard coughs from Nora and cries from Shaun. "Is…..it over?" Nora asked, "Are we okay?" The hazmat suited figure went to reach for Shaun.

"Almost," The man said, "Everything's going to be fine."

"Come here," The Hazmat suited figure said as Shaun cried, "Come here baby."

"No," Nora said her maternal instincts kicking in., "No! I got him!" The Hazmat suited figure tried to pull Shaun away from Nora. Then I realized, something wasn't right. I started beating on the glass, trying to get their attention. If I could get out of this damn pod.

To my horror, the man pulled out a revolver pistol and aimed it at Nora's head. "Let the boy go," He demanded coldly, "I'm only gonna tell you this once." My heart hammered. This couldn't be happening.

"HEY you bastard!" I yelled and beated my fist on the viewport, "Leave them alone!"

"I'm not giving you Shaun! Nora yelled struggling with the hazmat suited figure.

Then time slowed down for a brief moment as my world came crashing down. a shot rang out immediately leaving my wife a lifeless corpse and the hazmat suited figure took Shaun in her arms. "NO!" I yelled in utter fury banging against the glass, "No! no! You bastard! I'm going to kill you!" The hazmat suited figure closed the pod back.

"Goddammit," The man said looking at the corpse before turning to the hazmat suited figure and Shaun who was wailing at the loud noise from the gunshot. "Get the kid out of here, and let's go." The man walked over to my pod as he put his pistol away. He had this cold, steely look on his features. His face would forever be burned in my memory. I stared at him with a fury I hadn't had since the war. "...At least we still have a backup." He walked away.

" _Cryogenic sequence, reinitialized."_ It was once said that a strong man would only shed a tear if there was something they valued more than themselves was taken away from them. It was true. The last thing I remember, was staring at Nora's lifeless corpse across the room. A tear shed from my eye as I realized that I would never see her again. And Shaun…..what about Shaun? If I could just get out, I'd kill that man with my bare hands. I tried to fight it. I tried to fight the cold and sleep. But I couldn't. I fell into icy slumber once more, whiting out.

I woke up cold and coughing as the whiteness left. I gasped for air, seeing that nothing had seemingly changed. I still saw Nora's corpse in the same frozen position that it was in before the Cryostasis was initiated. An alarm started to sound. I started beating against the wall trying to get out. I had to get to Nora. "Come on, come on," I uttered in a hurry. I could hear the vault computer in the background.

" _Critical Failure in Cryogenic Array. All Vault residents must vacate immediately."_

I tried to get out of the Cryostasis pod, only to fall to the floor. My body was numb, everything was….numb. I breathed heavily hearing the sounds of water drip from the Cryo pod I came out of. I saw a flash of light to my right. It was too bright to be a warning light, but then again, I probably was hallucinating.

I struggled to get up, looking at my wife's frozen state. I went to pull on the handle near the viewport. "Come on!" I yelled in frustration and panic, "There has to be a release!" I scanned the immediate area to see a control panel. I pulled a lever and the pod started to open. "come on, come on, come on. Oh God!" Please let her have survived. Please…..

Nothing, she sat there lifelessly, the bullet wound in her frozen chest. Apparently, the guy had aimed lower than I thought. She sat there lifelessly, frostbit. I couldn't help it. I broke down in tears holding her corpse. "Oh, god no." I yelled. "NO! DAMN IT!" There was too much emotional pain. I couldn't take it. I almost wanted to….end it all. My world was gone, everything I had had been taken from me. Damn the bombs. My world hadn't ended when they fell. my world ended when my wife was murdered and my son…...my son was kidnapped. I sobbed for a while longer, how long. I don't know. But the more I wished it didn't happen, the more I thought about her smile, her laugh, Shaun's playful giggles, all the silent and vocal promises I made them….it didn't do me any good. Sorrow was beginning to be replaced with anger and determination. I placed my wife back in the Cryostasis pod before removing her wedding band from her finger. I stared at it before closing my hand around it.

Something fell out of her pocket. I picked it up noting that it was a pocket watch, one she kept on her at all times. I opened it, seeing a family photo of Nora, myself, and Shaun as a newborn. I stared at the picture before closing the case. I grasped at it holding it close to my forehead. Then, determined resolve washed over me. "I'm so sorry Nora," I spoke, "I'll find who did this and make them pay. And I'll get Shaun back. I promise." I closed her Cyropod back, and her body froze once more. The sounds of the warning computer came over the intercom repeating the same message as before. I got up and looked around in the other pods. I didn't want to leave Nora here without a proper burial, but I had no choice at the moment. I started to walk towards the closed door looking at the various Cryostasis pods on the way. I realized that I had this intense thirst and hunger while moving. It seemed that being in Cryo had taken a lot out of me.

"Oh god," I uttered seeing the state of the victims inside, "they're all dead. Why would Vault-Tec do this?" I looked at the monitoring terminal near the first pod in the room. "Let's see…."

 _Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink_

 _Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!_

 _[Cyrogenic Array]_

 _[Life Support]_

 _[Pod Occupant Status]_

I went through each option.

 _Cryogenic Array: Offline. Premature termination resulting in system failure. Isolated manual and remote overrides detected. Controls disabled._

 _Life Support: Offline. Premature termination resulting in system failure. Isolated manual and remote overrides detected. Controls disabled._

The last option showed the information on all the occupants in the room. All were dead with the exception of Pod C1 which was empty, my family's pod's. Nora was dead, but we were both marked as unknown because of a manual override on the pod doors. Everyone else had died of asphyxiation and life support failure. All of my neighbors I had known that were able to get in the safe secure vault, was dead. Somebody had some answering to do. This was unacceptable.

I noticed an oxygen tank turned over near the door. I ignored it. "Something's going on." I opened the door revealing an empty hall. Everything looked different with it like this. Doors were closed. I opened the one closest to the right seeing more Cryostasis pods. I found the terminal listing several people as deceased, including the Whitfields. I left the room and continued down the hall. I tried to open one of the doorways we came through, but it wouldn't budge. An alarm went off.

" _Malfunction in emergency exit door override. Please contact your Vault-Tec maintenance representative for service."_

"Great," I spoke sarcastically as I noted the toolbox and tools near the door itself. I turned to the only other exit possible opening the door. I descended down a short flight of stairs and turned right down the hallway. A window separated me and room. But that wasn't what got to me. On the other side, sticking to the glass, was a cockroach. Not just any cockroach. A giant cockroach. As I walked to it, it jumped off the glass and onto the floor. "What the fuck?" I uttered as it scurried off. I accidentally kicked a crate as I went to leave knocking something on the ground. It was a security baton. I picked it up and put it in my pocket not knowing if I'd need it. I hadn't found any of the vault staff yet, so I wanted to stay prepared. I continued down the hall until there was another door closed and a security room. Natural everything was in disarray except for a Stimpak and a terminal. Maybe it held answers that I needed.

 _Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink_

 _Clearance: VAULT-TEC SECURITY_

 _[VAULT 111 SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS]_

 _[Operations Protocol Manual]_

 _[Security Logs]_

I looked at the Security instructions first.

 _CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL_

 _SECURITY EYES ONLY - VIOLATION VTP-01011_

 _Vault 111 is designed to test the long-term effects of suspended animation on unaware, human subjects. Security staff are responsible for maintaining installation integrity and monitoring science staff activity._

 _Under no circumstances are staff allowed to deviate from assigned duties. Insubordination or interference with vault operations are capital offenses. Security staff are authorized to use lethal force._

Next I looked under the operation's protocol options.

 _[[Resident Admittance]]_

 _Upon Activation Notice from Vault-Tec, all personnel are required to report to the Entry Area and assist with admittance of Vault Residents. Security Personnel will maintain order and ensure that no personnel or residents attempt to evacuate the Vault._

 _Research staff will be responsible for resident intake and escort each to the designated cryogenic pod. Residents not accounted fr in the manifest should be asked to step aside and detained forcibly by security if necessary._

 _Once all residents have been sealed into their preservation chambers, dispose of an detainees. Vault entryway must remain sealed under any circumstances._

 _[[Staff Duties]]_

 _[[[Science Staff]]]_

 _Members of the Research team must daily monitor the vital signs of cryogenically preserved residents. Cardiopulmonary and cognitive activity in particular must be recorded hourly._

 _Life-saving intervention is only permitted if greater than 80% of the resident population has perished while in Cryogenic suspension, and must not interrupt suspension._

 _Independent research is encouraged, and left to Overseer discretion._

 _[[[Security Personnel]]]_

 _Security patrols are to be carried out on a constant eight-hour rotation. Security priorities include:_

 _-Monitoring for signs of intrusion_

 _-Checking for atmosphere leaks_

 _-Settling disputes among personnel_

 _-Enforcement of regulations set forth by the Overseer_

 _-Enforcement of regulations set forth by Vault-Tec_

 _[[[Facility Services & Maintenance]]]_

 _Due to the nature of Vault 111, personnel will be expected to perform duties outside their normal qualifications, such as janitorial duties and food preparation._

 _The exact distribution of these roles is left to Overseer discretion._

 _[[All-Clear and Evacuation]]_

 _[[[All-Clear Message]]]_

 _Following a nuclear event, Vault-Tec will monitor hazards such as radiation levels, enemy invasion, subsequent attacks, and other factors. Once conditions are deemed safe, this terminal will receive an all-clear notice._

 _Upon receiving the all-clear notice, Vault-Tec personnel may be evacuated at Overseer's discretion. Disregard any notices from organizations or individuals not associated with Vault-Tec, including government and military. Residents are not to be disrupted or evacuated. Vault-Tec will attend to their needs remotely once Vault 111 staff has been evacuated._

 _[[[Mandatory Shelter Period]]]_

 _Vault 111 is classified as a short-term assignment. Non-resident personnel are expected to carry out research duties and basic maintenance of the Vault while awaiting the All-Clear signal to evacuate._

 _In the absence of an All-Clear message from Vault-Tec, the Overseer may elect to evacuate staff after a mandatory shelter period of 180 days of containment. Under no circumstance may Vault 111 staff evacuate during this shelter period, unless receiving the All-Clear message from Vault Tec._

 _[Security Logs]_

 _[[October 23, 2077]]_

 _God. It finally happened. The world's over. Barely got all the residents inside. Not everyone made it…_

 _Now it's just us and the icebergs. I don't get it. Eggheads tried to explain to me that keeping them frozen is a big experiment. For a better future or something. I don't know. It just doesn't seem right that we were smiling at them all that time before putting them on ice. Shouldn't we have told them something?_

 _[[December 25,2077]]_

 _Christmas underground. Got together with the rest of the security boys and support staff and had a little party. Best gift that got handed out was a Fancy Lad Snack Cake that wasn't too stale._

 _None of the scientists came. Overseer wasn't there either. I just don't get them. They hiding something from us? Another company secret only or the higher ups?_

 _Whatever. Just a few more months and the All-clear is supposed to come through. Then we can start rebuilding._

 _[[March 14, 2078]]_

 _Only a few weeks left in our mandatory shelter period. Everyone's getting stir crazy. Some people are even saying the All-Clear Signal is never coming. We can't stay here much longer, that's for sure. It's not just the fact that I've been staring at the same break room and bunk bed for over six months. It's the fact that we only have enough food for a few months. Tops._

 _The Overseer keeps telling everyone to be patient, focus on work. He's definitely keeping us out of the loop. Something bad is going on. I just know it."_

 _[[April 23, 2078]]_

 _The main door accessing the vault exit is malfunctioning. Now the only way out is through the Overseer's evacuation tunnel, how convenient for him. He has one of the science team watching the door into his office at all times from a little makeshift checkpoint._

 _Got invited to a meeting tonight. Support Staffers and security only. Sounds like I'm not the only one with an axe to grind._

 _[[LAST ENTRY]]_

 _No All-Clear from Vault-Tec is coming. We need to leave. We're all but out of food. I almost murdered Stanley for dropping a damn salt cracker on the floor._

 _A handful of us confronted the Overseer about opening up the Vault. I never knew a man that small could shout that loud. Now he's locked himself in his office along with the rest of the science staff. We're supposed to hand over any food, weapons, and medicine we have by tonight, or there's "going to be consequences."_

 _I've talked to everyone. It's time. One way or another, we're getting out of this Vault._

I turned off the terminal letting all that information sink in. This wasn't a Vault for a better future. This was a fucking science experiment. I was all for discovering something and learning something new, but damn. This was just cruel and inhumane. By the time these entries were put in, at least a year six months had passed since the bombs fell. If that was true, Shaun would be barely a year old now. That meant that this place was deserted. I growled. Because of these people, countless lives of my neighbors were lost from Sanctuary Hills and Concord. That angered me to no end.

Survival mode started to kick in, and that meant that I needed to gather any supplies that I could and get out of here and find Shaun. I followed the hall and went through the door down another hall that bent left. After opening yet another door, I was met with one of those giant cockroaches. It turned towards me before scuttering my way. "Whoa what the-?" I uttered pulling out my baton. It got close and I swung down smashing the oversized insect with the baton. "Giant roaches…..it'd be ridiculous if I was taken out by one of those things."

I continued on, noting to grab another baton near another window of the generator room. Then I saw a kitchen. The security terminal said that the security and support staff had taken all the edibles in there. But it was worth a look. Nothing, not even in the side barracks. But I did notice a sink in the kitchen and a coffee mug by it. I drank some of the water from the faucet, savoring the taste after being so thirsty. But the hydration only intensified hunger. I had to find some food. I noted yet another terminal in the room. All it was, was a recreation terminal with a videogame holotape in it called _Red Menace_. I ejected the holotape, thinking that Shaun might enjoy it if I found him and when he grew up. You have to stay positive in this kind of situation, and that's what I'm doing.

I went through the generator room, the same place where I saw my first giant cockroach. As I entered I saw one get fried by sparking generator electricity. I wasn't about to go through that thing. I walked around the generators along the wall. I had to bat away a few of those giant cockroaches as they came at me. Good thing I was good at swinging a baseball bat growing up. A larger one than the others jumped at me. I sidestepped it and kicked it into the wall before bringing the baton down on its head, killing it. I continued on keeping my security baton out. There was a makeshift area with Vault-Tec, metal crates stacked up like a fortification and a skeleton with torn clothes on. This was probably a scientist that perished at the hands of the soon to be escapees. I opened the door quickly dispatching more giant cockroaches before entering an office. It was definitely the Overseer's office.

I took note of my surroundings noticing a standard 10mm gun with a box of ammo nearby. There were two magazines near it as well. I definitely needed to find something to carry all of this stuff with. My pockets were only so deep. I scanned the room, looking for anything that could help me with a load I was about to have. Nothing. I checked the small armory, which had a cool looking piece of tech in it. Some kind of weapon. A Cryolator? But I couldn't get to it. Then there was another 10mm gun with another box of ammo and some spare magazines. I didn't find a backpack or anything, but I did find two utility belts for security personnel. I put them on the Overseer's desk with my other collected stuff. I found a box of 10mm ammo in the bedroom. Altogether, I had about one hundred seven rounds of ammo with eight magazines, and five Stimpak regenerative applicators. I strapped on one of the utility belts and slung the other over my right shoulder and through my left arm like a sling. All eight magazines were put in holsters that held them down, while my security batons were on both sides of my utility belt. My stimpaks were put in a very small bag that would attach to the back of my slung utility belt. Finally, I had both holsters for my two 10mm guns.

I went to exit the room via the Overseer's tunnel only to be denied. It was controlled by the terminal. The terminal had a lot of the same information as the other terminals did, only this one had overseer access. I opened the door and continued on. There were multiple of those giant cockroaches. I decided to get a little target practice in. I pulled out one of my 10mm pistols and took aim. I shot three cockroaches missing one bullet before smashing the last with a baton. I kept walking keeping in mind the exact ammo count I had in my gun's magazine. I opened the next door seeing that I was in the second door entrance chamber. There were skeletons all over the place and all the furniture was turned over. I even killed a few of those giant cockroaches. The Vault door was closed, nothing able to penetrate its hull. I walked over to the control panel. I tried accessing it.

There was a double denial beep before the Vault Computer spoke. " _Pipboy Interface required to activate Vault door cycling sequence. Have a nice day."_

"A Pipboy?" I spoke. Those things were rare outside of Vaults even before the bombs fell. Where in the hell would I find one here at? My foot hit something. A skeleton. There was something attached to it. "Well I'll be damned." It was what I needed. I pulled it off the skeletal arm before attaching it onto my left arm and fastening it down. I pressed the power button and wiped off the screen.

It ran through several start-up routines and coding could be seen scrolling up before it gave me the processing data and copyrights. Then the prewar iconic Vault-boy avatar popped up giving me a thumbs up. Words came up revealing the Pipboy's functions.

 _Factory Reset initialized, scanning Vault 111 residents via biometric functionality and processing…._

… _._

 _..._

…

 _Resident found. Nathan Church._

 _Thank you for choosing the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV as your Personal Information Processor. The Mark IV is one of Vault-Tec's latest models of the Pip-Boy 3000. It has biometric neural processing that can scan what is on your person and the latest in health monitoring processing. Returning functions are the Global Positioning Map based on area maps of our great nation. A Geiger counter is now located on the side of the Pip-boy HUD so that you can avoid dangerous radiation levels. Finally all documentation of data is displayed as a category. The Mark IV also has a Pip-boy interface plugin that works with most Vault-Tec access technology. The final major feature to the Mark IV is an updated holotape player._

Then several categories came up. _Status, Inv (Inventory), Data, Map,_ and _Radio_. My status was healthy. It displayed my internal body temperature, status of my health in limb intervals, and something called SPECIAL. I remember there being documentaries on SPECIAL which was categories of expertise and skills that were categorized by Vault-Tec in helping the rebuilding process of the human race and our nation. SPECIAL stood for _Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck_. Of course, there were subcategories that fell under each SPECIAL category. You could train yourself pretty much doing things that involved the SPECIAL category. The average person's SPECIAL stats weren't above a for. A soldier usually had a six in anything combat oriented such as Strength, Perception, or Endurance. The Pipboy gave me my SPECIAL reading. I had a SPECIAL of _S-5, P-5, E-4, C-3, I-6, A-4, L-1._

I sighed. It was time to go. I pulled out the interface plug and attached it to the console. The button shielding released, allowing me to press the red button. Immediately the Vault Door Cycling sequence started up as said by the Vault Computer. I watched as the alarm went off and the machinery did its thing to attach itself to the Cog shaped Vault Door. It was loud as it slid out of place, when it started to spin, I saw light from the spotlight on the other side. The walkway extended out to meet the other end outside the door. I walked out, finally taking note of the neglect the Vault had endured. What was once shiny metal, was now covered in rust. I kept moving, proceeding to the platform elevator. I pressed a button and the alarm went off again. The gate closed and the Vault Computer initialized her last announcement. " _Enjoy your return to the surface. And thank you for choosing Vault-Tec."_

…


	2. Sanctuary Hills

**A/N: I was blown away by the amount of support this story had gotten. It was pretty epic to see how many views, favorites, and follows it had gotten on one chapter alone. I want to thank you all for your support. I'm going to be straight with you right now. Fallout is a masterpiece. As such I'm going to do my damndest to keep the plot moving, but in a realistic sense. I'm not prying for any reviews or anything, but I'd love some feedback there. Questions should be PM'd. I felt that the main question was kind of rushed in the beginning of the game, so I'm going to take it at a subtle pace. Also, be prepared for short chapters every now and then, like this one. On the bright side, I never post any chapters without them being at least 5,000 words in length excluding Author Notes. Enjoy!**

 **Part 1: A Soldier Reborn**

 **Chapter 2: Sanctuary Hills**

As the Vault 111 elevator platform rose, I had to shield my eyes from intense rays of sunlight, due to Cryostasis and being underground for a long time. The scene all around me looked as if I had stepped into a real life horror story. My gaze combed over what was left of the world. Sanctuary Hills was barely standing. A couple buildings were destroyed beyond all repair while others remained strong but broken in some parts. The mountainous slopes were dead as I turned to look inland. The shades of natural life were devoid of color and in various states of death, rot, or irradiated. It looked like the city of Boston in the distance was still standing through morning hazy air; at least the skyscrapers were. I could see the water tower in the distance, the power line structures that moved towards the city, and disappear behind irradiated trees and hills. I stood there in a mixture of shock, awe, and discouragement staring at the horror and beauty of the once lively world that was now changed. I had to get back down to my home. I turned to look at the construction site around Vault 111. I took good measure to look around for supplies before I left the construction site.

The controls to the door of Vault 111 were in the building nearby, also sporting a first aid box and a crate. There was a Stimpak and a purified bottle of water. The crate had a Molotov Cocktail inside. I stuck it in my small bag before continuing on. There was another building in the area containing more ammo for my N99 10mm handgun. I finally left the Vault 111 site making my way back down the hill. But before I did leave, I noted countless skeletons that were grouped around the gate. My mind flashed back to when the skeletons were people trying to seek refuge, only to be gunned down by a U.S soldier. I pushed it out of my mind before continuing on.

Eventually, I would make it across the footbridge and come up between the two backyards of the Whitfield residence, and the Able residence. It wasn't until I found myself in the middle of the street of Sanctuary hills did I realize how much had changed thanks to the bombs. What once was a peaceful and lively neighborhood full of people was now dead, destroyed, and almost unrecognizable. If a nuke hadn't hit somewhere on the other side of boston, I could swear a tornado had hit. Several houses were completely demolished including the Baker's, Donoghue's, and from what I could tell from where I was at, the Callahan's. Others were still standing, just having years of neglect to deal with like my own home, the Able's, the Whitfields, Rosa's home, and Hawthorne's home. Trees fell, post-war weeds and bushes were reclaiming the cracked asphalt road, trees had fallen, mailboxes barely standing, and the street was lined with old rusted vehicles. The only tree still standing that looked as if it was the cold season was a large oak tree which was the landmark of the Cul De Sac. Everything was so quiet, with the muffled sounds of an occasional buzzing sound. Everywhere I looked, I saw what had been, and what could've been before and if the bombs didn't fall.

I made my way towards my home, or what was left of my home. It was still standing though the windows were shattered, parts of the roof and wall were missing. But what was strange was that the bushes had been freshly trimmed in a straight line, not blocking the view out the bedroom windows. Bushes didn't grow like that. Then I saw something. Out of the house came a humming Mr. Handy model Robot.

"Codsworth?" I asked.

"As I live and breathe!" The Mister Handy said, "Oh….it's….it's really you!" It was then I realized that if this bucket of bolts could survive, then others could have as well.

"You're still here?" I spoke, "So…..other people could be alive too." His response was not what I was expecting, though.

"Well of course I'm still here," He said rather proudly, "surely you don't think a little radiation could deter the pride of General Atomics International? Hah. But you seem the worse for wear. Best not let the wife see you in that state." My heart sank. "Where is the Missus, by the way?"

"She's…." I said heavily, "In a better place."

Codsworth seemed undeterred and completely off at the moment. "Sir…." He said spoke, "these things you're saying…." In my mind, I the thoughts, I only said one thing. "...these, these terrible things you are saying...I…I believe you need a distraction. Yes! A distraction to calm this dire mood. It's been ages since we've had a proper family activity. Checkers. Or perhaps charades. Shaun does so love that game. Is the lad….with you….?

"Shaun's….." I started with difficulty. Five years in the military and the thought of never seeing my son would leave me almost unable to function. "...been kidnapped. But I'm going to find him." I said it almost just to reassure myself. "I'm going to get my son back."

Codsworth's response was again off. "It's worse than I thought," He said to me, "Hmm hmm. You're suffering from hunger-induced paranoia. Not eating properly for 200 years will do that, I'm afraid."

My mouth literally fell open. Did I hear that right? "No…." I said in disbelief, "No….that's not possible. I wasn't out for that long. Not 200 years…."

"Uh a bit over 210 actually, sir," Codsworth corrected himself, "Give or take a little for the Earth's rotation and some minor dings to the ol' chronometer, ha ha ha. That means that you're uh…..two centuries late for dinner, ha ha ha. Prehaps I could whip you up a snack? You must be famished." Food sounded great right now and that's all I registered for that moment.

"Starving," I replied, "Yeah…..I need a minute to think."

"Then I'll be right back," Codsworth replied before heading back inside. I walked in behind him as he hummed. I looked at the mess my house was now in. Leaves had blown in, the furniture in horrible condition, the refrigerator, stove, oven, and dishwasher were pretty much done. The bed where Nora and I once slept was completely destroyed. I walked into Shaun's old room and saw that the only two things that survived the past 200 years, were his crib and his baby changing table. The last time I was here, I was playing with him, spinning his favorite thing in the entire house.

"I'll find you buddy."

"Here you are sir," Codsworth said floating into the room and handing me a box of sugar bombs, "I'm afraid I don't have any milk on hand seeing as the grocery store over in Concord went out of business when the bombs fell."

"Thanks Codsworth," I said before opening up the box of sugar bombs and downing the entire box.

"You're Welcome Sir!" He replied, "I've been thinking….if something was amiss...your loved ones may simply be hiding….from…..the Red Menace." I gave him a look of confusion.

"Theh Rehd Memace?" I asked with tasty sugar bombs in my mouth. I didn't care about etiquette or manners, I was trying to fill a hole in my stomach.

"Why the Communists of course!" Codsworth said in indignantly, "The Russian's AND the Chinese!"

I looked at him dropping the now empty box of sugar bombs. The bombs had fallen. No government could have survived the outcome, not even the communist. "Codsworth buddy," I said, "I don't think the Reds are going to be a problem anymore."

It was like I wasn't speaking. "I have an idea!" He replied, "Let's search the neighborhood together. After all, the Missus and young Shaun, they're….they're my family too." This robot had been everywhere today. He himself stated that 210 years passed already, but he acted like not a day went by when the bombs fell. Furthermore, he didn't answer any questions or responded on topic, like he was avoiding them. That was the last straw something was up with my robot.

"Codsworth…." I spoke firmly, "Are you sure you're holding up okay?"

He didn't answer immediately. I didn't think it was possible for a Robot to have a mental breakdown. Until now. "I….I….." He started imitating a human who had just went emotional and on the verge of tears, "Oh sir, it's just been horrible! Two centuries with no one to talk to, no one to serve!?" The robot had become lonely and had almost drove himself crazy. "I've spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing! And don't even get me started about the futility of dusting collapsed house. And the car! The car! How do you polish rust!?" He was stuck on entirely the fact that things just continued on as normal. He had followed his subroutines and programming being an ever loyal robot and it had driven him almost crazy. I had to calm him before he short circuited himself.

"Codsworth," I said kind of feeling sorry for the robot, "Stay with me pal. Focus. What do you know about what happened?"

"I'm afraid I don't know anything sir," He said emotionally, "The bombs came, and all of you left in such a hurry, I thought for certain you and your family were….dead. I did find this holotape. I believe Missus was going to present it to you...as a surprise. But then, well..everything 'happened'." He pulled it out of a storage compartment in his chassis before giving it to me.

"Thank you Codsworth," I spoke looking at it.

He sniffed. "You're welcome," He said voice cracking.

"Give me a moment," I said sighing, "Go and…..do something else for a moment."

"Yes sir," Codsworth said, "Enough feeling sorry for myself. You have had a traumatic experience yourself. I will leave you be for a moment."

I nodded before putting the holotape in my Pipboy and pressed play.

"Oopsie," I heard Nora's voice and Shaun in the background making several noises, "no,no,no...put those fingers away. There we go. Okay. Just say it. Right there, right there. Go ahead." Shawn giggled and Nora followed. "Yay! Hi Honey. Listen….I don't think that Shaun and I how great of a father you are….but we're going to anyway. Isn't that right?" She had asked that question to Shaun. "You are kind, and loving…." Shaun laughed. "...and funny. That's right. And patient. So patient. Patience of a Saint, as my mom used to say. Look, with Shaun, and all of us being home together….it's been an amazing year. But even so, I know our best days are yet to come. Hmm, there will be changes, sure. Thing's we'll need to adjust to. You'll eventually rejoin the civilian workforce if you ever get tired of being a Mister Handyman, and...I'll shake the dust off of my law degree. But everything we do, no matter how hard…..we do it for our family. Now say goodbye Shaun." Shaun made several incoherent noises. "Bye, say bye bye. bye bye." Nora laughed again. "Bye honey! We love you! More than anything in the world."

I fell to my hands and knees, a single tear shed, which turned into many. The emotional pain coursed through me like sandpaper through my veins. I wanted to hold my wife and son, to never let them go again. I wanted to live a normal life with them. I wanted to see Nora again, with all her liveliness she had and joy in life itself. I wanted to see her lying there next to me in bed after I woke up one morning. I wanted to see that smile, hear that laugh, and see her holding Shaun or another newborn child of ours. And Shaun….I wanted to hold that little boy so close to me, like I did that day the bombs fell, calming him, reassuring him that everything was going to be okay. I wanted to be there to teach him so many things that my father and grandfather taught me. I would've taught him how to play baseball, hunting, fishing, a little bit of things on the agricultural side which his mom would probably start him off, survival skills, driving a car, and shooting his first gun. I would've been proud to see him growing up, attending D.B Technical High School, watching him grow into a man and find his own Soulmate and eventually marrying her. All these things that I wanted, all these things that could be only classified as The American Dream, had been ripped away from me. Everything I was forced to leave behind, had been wiped from the world, murdered, or stolen from me.

It took me several moments to pull myself together. I had just lost everything. But with all this grief, this….anger, something was born. Raw determination and a subtle lust for revenge. I got up and walked back into the kitchen where Codsworth was waiting.

"Are you alright sir?"

"Yeah," I lied.

"Hmm," Codsworth said, "I know better than that, tell you what. How about we search for young Shaun in the neighborhood? Surely he and his kidnapper would be in a nearby area? My motion sensors are picking up movement in Sanctuary Hills. "

I knew better than to have that kind of hope. But I went with it anyways. "I doubt it," I said, "But what the hell. Let's give it a shot."

"Proud to serve Mr. Nathan," Codsworth said happily, "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," I replied, "Lead the way." I followed the overly excited robot next door closer to the Cul De Sac. It was Johani's house, one of my wife's friends. I walked over to the house only to be a large mutated fly that flew through the window at a fast speed. I pulled out my pistol and fired a round, missing. I fired once more only having to duck from a projectile of….something that seemed to come from the oversized bug. The bug was cut down by Codsworth's skill saw. Then he torched the hell out of another oversized fly that came through the collapsed door.

"Might want to be careful sir," Codsworth spoke to me, "Bloatflies aren't the most dangerous thing out here. They're fast and nimble. They throw larvae at you and that can blind even the most resilient man today."

"Bloatflies?" I asked.

"Yes," Codsworth said, "I heard some of the locals call them that. And they call giant cockroaches, something stupid….now what was it….? Oh yes, Radroaches."

"Those are some strange names," I replied as I searched the house. The only thing I saw was a safe in the master bedroom. I didn't even think about touching the thing because I didn't have anything to pick the locks with for one, and two it would be weird to go around my neighbor's former homes looting it…..for now at least.

"Yes well," Codsworth said, "most humans are strange themselves these days. My sensors aren't picking up anything else. Nothing here but a few flies…...hmm not good at all. Wait….I'm picking up something else…..in the Gallagher residence. Follow me!" With that, the hyped up robot floated out the door with alarming speed. I turned to follow him to the Cul De Sac. Immediately, we were swarmed by more of those flies. I took aim, trying to hit one of those flittering little things. My aim was off, severely. I used to be a crack shot with weaponry. Now, I'm just rusty. Deciding not to waste any more ammo, I pulled out my baton and started swinging at the Bloatfly. Codsworth literally picked one out the air with his nimble robotic finger and slammed it into the ground before cutting it up with his skill saw. I dodged as another threw more of its larvae at me. I smacked it to the ground and then squished it under my boot. I walked inside the Gallagher residence seeing that someone had attempted to make a makeshift barrier to bunker down behind in the kitchen/living room.

"Your family isn't here either," Codsworth spoke with extreme disappointment, "They're….they're really gone aren't they?"

"Thanks for trying Codsworth," I spoke, "But Shaun's still out there somewhere. I need to find him."

"Hmm," Codsworth said changing his tone, "What about Concord sir? Plenty of people there. And last I checked, they only pummeled me with sticks a few times before I had to run back home."

"There is still people alive in Concord?" I asked.

"Yes," Codsworth said, "Although they're a bit rough. You remember the way? Just across the southern footbridge out of the neighborhood and past the Red Rocket Station?"

"Of course," I replied, "Concord's where we went grocery shopping." Concord was nearly a mile out from Sanctuary Hills, with the Red Rocket station at the top of the hill from it. I made the trip almost daily when I had an oddball job to go do.

"Very well then," Codsworth said, "Will you be leaving immediately?"

I was about to say yes when I came across the realization of something. If I left now, without making sure I was prepared, then I'd be as useless as I was when I fought with those Bloatflies. I would probably die if I went out there ill equipped and rusty; and Shaun would be lost forever. I couldn't have that. I was smarter than that. My nearly lost and confused civilian and emotional father-like state had almost gotten me killed. I had to return to what I was during the Sino-American War. A calculating soldier. But I couldn't return to it like I used to be. I couldn't return to that time where I was a cold blooded tactical thinking, inventive genius Green Beret who killed without remorse. If I was to return to that persona, the morals I had set for myself upon returning to civilian life with Nora, would be lost. I had to adjust. I had to adapt. I had done a pretty shitty job of it so far. The "The world's changed and my family is dead or lost" excuse was not flying anymore. I had to adapt. I had to. I couldn't let my emotions run me. I wasn't saying to just forget about Shaun and Nora, like they were nothing. I was saying, remember them and move forward so I could function effectively to actually find Shaun. That raw determination and resolve was the final straw I needed to flip the switch. I would hold onto my morals, while moving on like the soldier I was trained to be.

"No," I spoke firmly.

"No?" Codsworth questioned with scrutiny, "What about your son?"

"I'll find him Codsworth," I spoke, "But last time I tried, which was with you by the way, I almost got myself killed. I've got to prepare myself first. My time as a civilian has made me soft. My time in Cryo has seemingly affected my ability physically and mentally as a soldier. I have to change that."

"So what are you going to do?" Codsworth said.

"I'm going to plan and prepare," I spoke, "And I'll probably need your help. Will you?"

"AB-solutely," Codsworth replied, "Where shall we begin?"

"First off," I said, "Have you seen any hostile activity around here while I was in the Vault?"

"No sir," Codsworth replied, "Other than the occasional pest like the Bloatfly or a dog passing through no. Sanctuary Hills remains untouched from outside contact for the past 200 years. There was one fellow in a yellow trenchcoat irradiated to…..hell but he left a long time ago for some reason. I haven't seen him since."

"Okay then," I spoke, "It's time for me to prepare. It looks like this is going to be my homefront from now on. My house is in a pretty strategic location, so that's where I guess I'll sleep. Codsworth, I want you to start going through the neighborhood and piling everything unusable out front. It's all going for scrap."

"Yes sir," Codsworth said, "Might I ask what you will be doing sir?"

"I'll be scavenging for anything else useful," I replied, "Weapons, food, Chems, gear, all the good stuff. If you find anything that is remotely useful, I want to see it. Put it in our carport. I don't care if there's a tiny screw out of a trashed up toy. I need it. Okay? Clothes, everything. Anything bigger pile it in the front yard."

"I may have to move the car sir," Codsworth spoke.

"It's useless," I replied looking at the old thing, "Do what you have to."

"Yes sir," Codsworth said. With that, we got to work. I went around the neighborhood armed with a single gun and baton. I left all my stuff on my countertop in my home. Codsworth was busy going around the general area looking for things to scrap. I went next door to Johani's old home and looked around for anything useful. That's when I saw a bobby pin. I was a good infiltrator and one of the things I learned, was picking locks. So I did so to the safe. I took me a moment, but I finally got the safe open. Inside was a blood pack, some prewar money, a box of shotgun shells, a crude improvised weapon used even before the bombs fell called a pipe pistol, some .38 ammo, and Psycho syringes. I even claimed a bottle of nukacola. With Johani's house plucked through involving supplies, I put all the looted items in my home before going over to the other formally bloatfly infested home. In all that junk, I found another safe, though this one was a floor safe. I found more .38 ammo, another pipe pistol, and some prewar money as well as a gold pocket watch. There were several Stimpaks and bobby pins in the mirror cabinet in the bathroom. I returned those supplies to my home before searching the final house on the Cul De Sac. I remembered that this was the home of a local fellow soldier named Axel. I sighed as I walked in and tore his home apart for anything valuable. I found ammo for my N99 pistol as well as a dufflebag that I fully planned on using. I searched around the back of his home, remembering that he had a root cellar before the war. This was where he had once stayed. I picked it clean, getting more ammo, medical supplies, and even gold bars.

When I returned to my home, Codsworth had dragged the old car into the middle of the street and had an assortment of gear on the carport floor. I dropped what I had gathered off, then continued on down the neighborhood. I went next door to my home which was the Whitfield residence to find nothing but a single Stimpak and salvageable items. In the Able residence. I found a first aid box in there. Next house I visited was right next door and use to belong to a seemingly okay guy named Mr. Hawthorne. That was until I found out what he did for a living. After spending a couple minutes hacking his terminal I found out that Mr. Hawthorne was in the business of making drugs and selling them; to neighbors no less. DiPietro, Mr Baker, Rosa, Jahani, Mr. Russell? What? They got drugs illegally? Well that pretty much changed my outlook on them. I had to disarm a makeshift bomb trap that guarded the safe full of chems and prewar money. He even had a Chemistry station out back. It had all the components need to make anything I wanted, bombs, medical products, drugs which it was used for, or cutting fluid. By the time I had made it to Russell's old residence, it was around five in the afternoon. There was some food, but that was it. Rosa's residence, which was across the street from mine, probably had everything I could ever want. She kept an assortment of equipment and tools because her and her son was trying to restore a Corvega before the bombs fell. She was a grease monkey on all ends.

I returned to my house looking at all the gear I had. I made sure to keep a checklist of everything I had. Codsworth had piled a great amount of appliances and junk on the carport floor. These ranged from tin cans, aluminum cans, light fixtures, old radios, kitchen appliances, etc. Before it got too dark, I made sure to move the couch in front of the front door so it couldn't be opened. That way there was only one way out of the house that someone would most likely use if they tried to come at me. Codsworth floated in through the side door.

"Sir are you okay?"

"Just making sure there's one way in Cods," I spoke, "At least for the night. How much scrap have you gathered?"

"A lot sir," Codsworth said, "Shall I name off the materials."

"No," I replied, "We'll probably go over that in the morning. I'm going to get some food in me and call it a night."

"Very well sir," Codsworth said, "I shall stand guard then." I ate some preserved yum yum deviled eggs before finally getting some sleep.

I was walking through the halls of D.B Technical High School beginning my year as a Senior. It was a crowded high school from what I was used to. I came from a farm from the state of New York, being a descendent of a Southern farmer. My father was in the military like I was and he was reassigned to be stationed in Boston. My family and I were new here. But I didn't let that deter me from being myself. I was raised by a military mother and father, so yeah, I was an army brat. It was seemingly a good00 day, until I caught a glimpse of that Blonde Hair and blue eyed girl. Then it became a better day.

I woke up to the sound of my Pipboy's alarm clock, looking for Nora. But all that was there was the destroyed kitchen of my home with Codsworth watching over the house. I turned off the alarm clock and got ready for the day. Codsworth and I began our work. I walked over to Rosa's first thing that morning and looked at all the equipment and tools she had. She had a smelter for melting down metal, a forge for reshaping it, and a prewar wood fabricator. She also had a lot of tools and even a car lift that could be reconfigured for holding up a Power Armor frame. I'd probably do that if I could find some. The U.S military wasn't still around was it? They wouldn't give a rats ass. I spent the better part of the day moving all the fabrication equipment to Johani's garage, which the only thing separating our houses was hedges. There was a gap between the hedges that allowed easy access to her carport. The best part was, there was no side door to her house. Codsworth and I moved the rusted car out the way beforehand, so installing the equipment was easy. This pretty much got me out of the Stone Age. I could now modify my weapons and build defenses. I just had to create several molds out of clay and what not.

Building my home base wasn't too hard, especially with Codsworth, even if his programming wasn't suited for construction. He was entirely helpful as he doubled the process of constructing a few wall panels and fences made of junk. I installed the junk fences in the gaps between the backyards of my house and Johani's old home. Then I made sure the gaps between the car ports were fenced in and the a door frame was installed on both garages. Most people would wonder, why I'd want to fence in such a big place. I was an excellent strategist and I planned ahead a lot. I also liked to be prepared. The second day, I used the drug dealer's terminal to create a basic program for two machine gun turrets. Codsworth aided me in every step of their creation. One was put on the front top side of Johani's garage and the other looking over the backyard of my house.

Day three was all about me getting some lighting. I had just enough copper to make two DIY medium sized generators that were built at the back corner of Johani's backyard. I strung wire all the way to her car port over our hedges that divided the two houses, and to my garage. I had just enough for two lights. One under each carport. After my third day of improvising land management, I finally felt that my home was safe enough and could serve my needs. It basically became a workshop. With adequate power now, I decided to modify one of my guns with the available materials I had. I replaced the standard grip with a leather grip for more comfort and then readjusting and completely modifying the standard receiver into an upgraded one. These little adjustments aided with helping my aim, and the velocity of the bullet once it leaves the chamber. I decided to get a little target practice in testing out the new modifications. I only used twenty 10mm bullets, deciding to be sparing with it. With a backpack full of necessary equipment such as medical treatment supplies, ammo, and rations, I decided to leave the next morning towards Concord. Codsworth would stay and guard the workshop. He could handle it. He's done it for 200 years now.


	3. Concord

**A/N: I got this done a little quicker than expected. Enjoy!**

 **Part 1- A soldier Reborn**

 **Chapter 3: Concord**

I left Sanctuary Hills all geared up and ready to go. Walking across the footbridge was slightly intimidating. I had gotten used to the quietness of Sanctuary Hills and its relative safety. Plus I was going it alone. It didn't help that a car had fell through the footbridge over the river. I noticed the statue of a minuteman that protected this country in the revolutionary war on the way out. Surprisingly it was still standing. What was more intriguing was something below it. There was the body of some nameless person and the corpse of their dog, near a dufflebag. I looked around to make sure no danger was around before scavenging. There was a short double barrel shotgun and a box of 12 gauge shotgun shells. I stowed away the shotgun shells and shotgun just in case. There was around fifty Nuka-Cola bottle caps, which I didn't know why someone would collect them. Just to be safe, I kept them. If anything I could melt them down for aluminum or something. I kept moving for the better part of ten minutes until I saw the Red Rocket Gas Station's rocket as I followed the road around the sloped landscape.

I noted all the Prewar vehicles that were left in ruin along the roads as well as the cracked asphalt and fallen trees. Power lines were done for, either being snapped from their poles a long time ago, or being mangled as they crossed overhead. I heard barking coming from the Red Rocket station. I pulled out my N99 10mm gun just in case just in case. From the cover of a single seater prewar vehicle, I looked over the abandoned building for a dog. No dog whatsoever. I stayed there watching, waiting for a dog to show. I made a clicking sound with my mouth as to call the canine. I heard that damned dog, now where was it? It was probably a mongrel or a wild dog. I walked towards the station keeping an eye out for any movement. I was ready to fire if I needed to. I walked under the awning seeing nothing. I was about to walk inside the building when the ground next to me exploded. I kicked an ugly pink mammalian creature away. It got back up and hissed before burrowing undering ground at an alarming speed.

"What the hell?" I uttered backing away. A few seconds later, the ground exploded in several different directions. I started firing at the creatures, my accuracy somewhat improved now that I had modified my N99 the way I wanted it and had some practice with it. They looked like mutated mole rats. I dispatched three or four out of the six with my pistol before running out of ammo. One jumped at me, but I pistol-whipped it before crushing its head under my boot. The other disappeared. I went to reload. Before I could it came bursting out the ground jumping straight for me. That's when a dark brown and black blur met it in the air tackling it to the ground. A dog had a hold of the mole rat's neck and was shaking it violently until its neck snapped. The dog looked at me, before scampering off into the Red rocket building. It wasn't just any dog either. It was a male German Shepherd, a pure-blooded one at that. Those dogs were smart and useful. I briefly wondered if it had an owner.

"Hello?" I called out, "Anyone in there?" The dog barked. No answer from a human.

"Hello?" The dog barked again. So the dog was on its own.

"Come on out boy," I said putting my gun away, "I'm not going to hurt you." The dog stuck his head out of the door tilting his head. The rest of his body was behind cover. This dog was very smart. "Come on boy." The dog kept low, as a sign of submission before walking towards me. "There you go. What are you doing out here all by yourself boy?" I ran my hand over his head scratching behind his ear. "Come with me. We can look out for each other." In response he wagged his tail barking.

It was amazing that the dog seemed to understand what I was saying. I looked around the gas station from where we were at before deciding that I could pick it clean for supplies. Which I did earning nothing but medical supplies. Afterwards, the dog and I walked towards Concord. The majority of the town was still standing and the church tower being the tallest point. But what was strange was that I could hear gunfire. I kept my pistol out just in case. The dog growled before getting ahead of me impatiently. I wondered what had him so annoyed.

We came through the town from the neighborhood near the hill that the Red Rocket was a top of. Though it was still a pretty long walk along the road, you could see the Red Rocket over the roofs of the townhomes. The houses were all abandoned, the streets barely recognizable from when I used to visit beforehand. Then I got into the "city" part of town where there were stores or businesses lining the streets with apartment buildings atop them. There were several sandbag walls lining the streets as cover. I still heard gunfire echoing off the buildings and some kind of energy-based sounding weapon. I turned the corner and got behind cover trying to see what was going on up on main street past the town square. There were a group of people firing up at someone at the Museum of Freedom's balcony. The dog growled. I quieted him down trying to figure out which side to choose. Was the man up top under attack or did he start taking potshots off at everyone down below because he was caught trespassing.

I got my answer quickly when I heard someone coming out of the doorway of a building less than fifteen feet away. We went unnoticed. "Come on," One of the guys said to the other inside the building, "Those idiots need help killing that group of wastelanders who were stupid enough to come to Concord."

"Christ," The other said in annoyance, "Motherfuckers just had to come this early in the morning. There better be a bitch in there to fuck, cause there's no way I'm going to get up and kill those bastards for nothing."

"Oh quitcha bitchin' and get out here and help us."

I pulled out my gun and fired at one of the two, getting a clean headshot. The other turned towards us drawing a makeshift pipe pistol only to be tackled to the ground and his throat ripped out by an angry dog. The dog was about to run off towards the other hostile humans before I stopped him.

"Hold on boy," I said, "We're going to get them. But we have to be smart about it." He whimpered. "Just trust me and follow me." My plan was to flank them through an alleyway. We made our way to the side street undetected before going through an alleyway that was about halfway up mainstreet. One of the hostiles were using the corner as cover. The dog and I crept up undetected. I pulled out a switchblade I found in Sanctuary Hills before creeping up towards the hostile. I was close enough I slit his throat before he knew what happened. He dropped his improvised weapon grabbing his neck in desparation for air.

I then picked up his pipe pistol, saving my own ammunition and looked for more hostiles. One was using an old vehicle for cover. I pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger. There were several more hostiles further up the road lighting that balcony up. One was taken down by a shot from the energy weapon that was being used by the man on the balcony. I did my best to get his attention. He looked up before nodding and taking a potshot off at one of the last hostiles. There were two left. "Hey boy," I said to the dog and pointed at one. "Sick 'em." He nodded barking. I vaulted over the cover and ran towards other firing off rounds at his back. The two were taken down with ease.

"Hey you!" The man on the balcony called out in distress, "I've got a group of settlers inside! The Raider's are almost through the door! Grab that Laser Musket and help us! Please!"

"Make sure everyone is safe," I said, "We're coming up."

He nodded and went inside. I found the weapon he was referring to on the body of a settler. It was definitely musket style, it getting the charge of the laser ammo from a crank. I cranked it up and a red energy bounced around the glasslike receiver. I went in the museum, noting a propeller in the glass roof, hearing gunfire throughout the building coming from above. There was only one clear path to the top of the museum. I made my way through the museum display rooms and killed off the Raiders as the man had called them. It was a classic shootout that resulted in my victory.

I found my way up to the second floor stealthily taking out Raider's who were busy trying to shoot into the blocked doorway on the third floor. I made my way through the side room on the second floor. I remembered there being a mural of freedom in there. I overheard two Raider's talking.

"I'm telling you man," One said, "Let's just get the hell outta here. We got no reason to hang around and get shot."

"Stop being such a fucking pansy," the other said, "We hold out for the others, like we're supposed to."

"What are you deaf?" The first argued, "Somebody's out there shooting the place up. I ain't sitting around, waitin' to die…."

"I swear to god," The other snapped back, "If you make a move for that exit, then I'll gut you myself. Now shut your mouth or we'll never get the drop on this guy that's coming to help those idiots uptop." Before the argument could continue, I shot the two of them. I continued through the room making sure to stay quiet. When I climbed the stairs on the third floor, there was noise on the other side of barricaded walls and doors.

"I'm coming in there!" I heard a Raider say, "And I'm going to fuck up every single one of ya!"

"Come on man," Another Raider said, "Let's get out of here. They ain't going nowhere. When the others get here, we'll deal with them."

"You hear that?" The first Raider yelled, "I gotta take a little walk, but when we get back you're all dead." I hid against the wall and waited on them to come through the door before shooting them both. I walked around the corner and towards the door. The man who was on the balcony was the one to open the door. The dog ran inside without a second thought.

"In here," the man said. I walked in and he closed the door behind me. He wore a colonial style duster and a Militia style hat. He had an upgraded version of my laser musket he told me to use. "Man I don't know who you are, but your timing is impeccable. Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen." There was a guy trying to hack a computer nearby. He wore gear you'd see on someone who worked with power armor or military equipment. There was an old lady petting the dog I found at Red Rocket, and two others. One looked insecure and the other looked pissed off.

"Glad to help," I replied nodding with a firm tone.

"Well if that's true," The man said, "We could use more good will. As you can see, we're in a bit of a mess here." He paused for a moment expectantly.

"Please," I said, "Go on."

"A month ago," The Preston continued, "There were 20 of us. Yesterday there were eight. Now we're five. First it was the ghouls in Lexington, and now this mess." Ghouls?

"Ghouls? What are ghouls?" I asked him, "Forgive my ignorance." I wondered if these ghouls were more mutations.

"Wow…." Preston said looking surprised, "You must not be from around here. Ghouls are…...irradiated people. Most are just like you and me. They look pretty messed up, and living a long time, but they're just….people. The ones I'm talking about are different." I tilted my head inquisitively. "The radiation's rotted their brains; made them feral. They'll rip you apart just as soon as look at you." He sighed holding his laser musket aside to wipe his chin. "Anyway, we figured Concord would be a safe place to settle. Those Raider's proved us wrong."

"Yeah and more are on the way," I replied, "So we need to either get out of here now, or fight."

"We can't leave anywhere in a hurry with Mama Murphy," Preston said, "And fighting…..well we do have one idea."

"Is it enough to stop those maniacs?" I asked.

"Sturges," Preston said to the man trying to hack the computer, "Tell him."

"There's a crashed Vertibird on the roof," He said, "old school. Pre-war."

"Yeah," I said, "I saw it coming in."

"Well," Sturges replied, "Looks like one of its passengers might've left behind a seriously sweet goody. We're talking a full suit of cherry T-45 Power Armor. Military issue."

Power armor? I used to like operating in Power Armor. I was familiar with the T-45, the T51 and the T60 Power armor. And from what Sturges just implied, the U.S government wasn't around to care about abandoned equipment. "I like it," I replied immediately.

Sturges laughed. "Yeah, I thought you might," He said, Protection with an added bonus. Get the suit, and you can rip the minigun right off the Vertibird. Do that, and those Raiders get an express ticket to hell. Ya dig?"

"Minigun?" I said, "Standard issue for Powered Armored infantry back before the bombs. Now we're talking."

"I know right?" Sturges said but became slightly said, "Only one problem though. The suit's outta juice. Probably been dry for a hundred years. It can be powered up again, but we're a bit stuck."

"Okay then," I said, "What's the solution to the problem?"

"What you need is an old Pre-war, F.C," Preston spoke, "A standardized fusion core. Your high grade, long-term nuclear battery. Used by the military and some companies way back when. And we know right where to find one."

"But we can't get to the damned thing," Sturges continued, "It's down in the basement. Locked behind a security gate." Sturges sighed looking defeated. "Look. I fix stuff. I tinker. By-passing security ain't exactly my forte."

"I'll give it a shot," I said, "But there's one thing you should know about this fusion core. Without configuring it to Power Armor software, the charge will run out pretty quick. And here's the deal. The power armor's mine when we get out of this mess."

"Deal," Preston said happily, "Looks like our luck is finally turning around. Once you jack that core into the power armor and grab that minigun, those Raiders that are on their way will realized that they picked the wrong fight." I made my way down into the basement and found the generator behind the locked door. I activated the terminal and began working on hacking it. Hacking was a tedious process. I had to go in looking at it through a binary code that would be interpreted and translated into characters. Then I had to match the right word with access information. I seriously needed to write a translator program so the binary code wasn't so annoying. But I opened the damned door and walked in to activate the generator, then eject the fusion core. It was a cylinder-like device with the charge stated on the core. It was at fifty percent. I made my way back up to the third floor where the group of settlers were at.

"Well look at you," Sturges said, "Bonafide computer genius."

I nodded. I went to walk pass the old lady that the dog seemed to like. "Dogmeat sure did find us some help," She said to me as she petted the dog, "Just look at ya."

"Dogmeat?" I said with disappointment, "So he's your dog?"

"Oh don't be so downtrodden kid," the old lady said, "He's not my dog, no sir. Dogmeat...he's what you'd call his own man. You can't own a free spirit like that. But he chooses his friends, and sticks with 'em. He'll stay by you now. I saw it."

"You….." I spoke not understanding her, "Saw it?"

"It's the chems kid," She replied, "They give ol' Mama Murphy the Sight. Been that way for as long as I can remember. It means I can see a bit of what was and what will be. And even what is, right now…..And….right now, I can see there's something coming. Drawn by the noise, and the chaos. And it is….angry." So she was drugged up on something. Probably suffering from hallucinations. I went along with it. Older folk were known to be a bit….out there.

"What is it?" I asked feigning concern.

"I see….." She spoke, "I...see….oh it's horrible kid. Claws….and teeth and….horns! The very face of death itself…" She sighed looking exhausted. "That's all I can manage, that's all. I need to rest now. And you have a job to do….." With that, she started to fall unconscious. I caught her hastily and let her fall asleep laying on the couch.

"Don't listen to that hag," The asian woman said, "She's just a chem addict."

"Marcy!" Preston said, "she's old. Respect her."

"You two got us in this mess!" the woman named Marcy said, "all because of the Sight, and your beliefs that Concord was safe!"

"Uh I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Sturges said as he peered out the window of the balcony, but we've got a problem. I'm seeing movement coming from the North East. It's Raiders."

"No time to waste then," I deadpanned. I walked out the other end of the room before getting to the roof. There it was. T-45 Power armor. I noticed that there was a holotape duct taped onto it. I put it in my backpack, which I strapped to Dogmeat for the moment. I noted the discarded fusion core in the armor's receiving chamber. I ejected it and put the new Core inside. I turned the activation switch and the suit opened up. I carefully stepped inside and the suit closed around me. The HUD (Head's Up Display) came online revealing everything I needed except for a few inaccurate readings. It showed that the core was thirty percent drained, when in reality it was fifty percent. It showed how many rads were in the air and the intake number. It showed armor integrity and a broken ammo capacity meter.

Preston was already firing at the Raider's down below. One even taunted him, "Why don't you bring that fancy gun of yours down here?" He yelled up to Preston, "Not a lot of people can get through my boys. You give us that woman and we'll leave. She's all we want." I heard a laser musket sound crack across the air in response. I briefly wondered who that man was talking about as I walked towards the Minigun. I grabbed it, attached two spare 5mm ammo cartridges to my left leg. Concord had become a slaughterhouse as soon as I had stepped into this Power Armor. I walked out onto the ledge of the roof before opening fire on the rooftop raider. I then let loose a hailstorm of bullets to the groundside Raiders. A lot of them perished immediately as no armor could stop a minigun's barrage unless it was power armor, and that wouldn't hold up too long. I jumped down off the building knocking a Raider to the ground. He tried to flee, but I showed no mercy. I killed him before turning my minigun onto the others. I walked towards the end of the street where I had pushed the last few remaining back behind cover. We had won this, I was confident of that. But then, something happened to change all of that. I heard the most ferocious growl that could possibly ever exist. Then a sewer grate flew off the ground and something climbed out of a civic access.

This thing was larger than I was in Power Armor. It was reptilian with curved horns like a prewar bull, Its head was bulky and boxy with sharp looking teeth, and it had spines growing out its back.. Its eyes were yellow full of immense hatred. It had long limbs and a long tail. It had opposable fingers as it stood on two feet, hunched over slightly. It had long dark claws, the centermost claw being several inches longer. That thing roared in fury before picking up a Raider and throwing it into the side of the building with a sickening crack.

"Deathclaw!" A Raider yelled, which sent the rest of them scrambling to get clear of the beast. It chased them down one by one on all fours like a Prewar big cat. It literally ripped one Raider in half and then went for another that had tripped and rolled over trying to fire at it. The bullets didn't seem to do anything to it. It just pissed off the creature even more. It literally bit off the head of the Raider by crunching down on his neck before spotting more prey. The Deathclaw looked up seeing two Raiders run inside the old drugstore at the town clock. That Deathclaw immediately bolted towards them and dove through the window. A Raider went flying out the window and the other tried to jump from the second floor only to be tackled in mid air by the Deathclaw jumping out at him. The Deathclaw's strength was shown when it landed on the side of the large multi-floored bank where there was a Prewar well attached. It stayed attached to the side of the bank by its left limbs and right leg while the Raider's still live body pierced by its claws. I had never heard a man scream in agony like that. The Deathclaw roared before looking directly in the eyes of its prey and biting off the head of the raider. It dropped the corpse before sniffing the air. It climbed the side of the bank before going into one of the windows. Shortly after, it burst out of the first floor door with Raider's scrambling to get clear. It immediately slashed at one before grabbing the other by the legs and then slamming him into the side of an old corvega. Then piercing him with his claws. Finally out of targets, the creature looked up at me growling.

I pressed the rotary trigger on the minigun. The Deathclaw took that as a challenge and shot towards me. I unleashed a hailstorm aiming for the damned thing. The Deathclaw stopped coming at me, realizing that the minigun would shred it to pieces, and bolted down the Alleyway I used earlier. I started to back up to the Museum of Freedom. It roared, the echo bouncing off the buildings intimidatingly.

"Preston!" I yelled up at the Balcony, "You get everyone in the basement right now! You get them in that cage the generator was in! That's the only safe place where that damned thing can't run them down."

"Alright," Preston said before going back inside.

I backed up to the door scanning the area for that Deathclaw for several moments Nothing. Then I saw it. It had leaped from the top of the roof where the first Raider I killed in this power armor, to where I jumped down at. It had gone inside! I knew I could easily take off now and put some distance between me and that Deathclaw and leave the others to their fate. But….I didn't. It was the dumb thing to do, but it was also the right thing to do. I went inside, watching it fall through the glass skylight. It landed on the back stairs being temporarily stalled by a laser musket blast from the basement. At first I thought it saw me, but then it went down into the basement pouncing at something. I thought it had gotten one of the settlers, but all I heard was it hitting a steel surface. It started swiping at it.

My mind went into overtime trying to think of a way out of this situation without running off. That thing could put the fear of god into someone a hundred times over. Then I thought about it. If I could get something to land on top of it from high enough….Me. I jumped up to grab the doorway of the second floor to the left and then found my way up to the roof. I looked down at the Deathclaw as it tried to slash its way into the generator cage. I had to jump from the propellor of the Vertibird. I got onto the thing and attached the minigun onto my back. I remembered that these Power Armored suits had very good shock absorbers. Then I noticed that the propeller was spinning slightly. I broke it off and made sure the sharpest point was pointed down. The Deathclaw was finally able to rip off the door and throw it into the wall behind it. Preston shot one more round of Laser musket in its face as a last attempt to survive. The Deathclaw merely growled then let out a terrifying roar as it went to put its entire body in the cage with them.

Its roar was silenced as I dropped down atop its back, impaling it through the spines with the vertibird propellor. The propellor came out its abdomen and the Deathclaw was on the ground by the sheer force of my drop. I turned around, having been facing the creature's tail when I fell. The Deathclaw roared in pain and defiance. But I quickly silenced that by grabbing its horns and twisting its head with a sickening crack. I looked up at the settlers who stared back in a mixture of pure unwavering fear awe. Preston and Sturge's mouths were open in disbelief while the others were done cowering and stared with shock. Dogmeat was low to the ground, but his ears were pointed up in surprise.

"I think we're done here," I said to them.

"Holee shit," Sturges uttered. The first and only word uttered for a few moments.

I had been sweeping Concord for more hostiles, finding that no one survived me or the Deathclaw. I took the time to gather up weaponry, armor pieces from the fallen Raiders, chems and medical supplies. I didn't bother scavenging the buildings due to insufficient time. I would head back to Sanctuary Hills, this place obviously being a dead end for finding Shaun. I loaded all the stuff on a wagon and leaving it outside the door of the Museum of Freedom.

I walked in seeing everyone standing in the lobby, though mama murphy sitting on some crates. "Take it easy mama murphy," Preston said, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine Preston," The old woman said, "Quit your fussin'."

Preston didn't say anything after that, he just looked at me. "That was….." He said, "A pretty amazing display. You saved our lives. I'm just glad you're on our side."

"Is everyone okay now?" I asked.

"Yeah," Preston said, "For a while, anyway. At least until we can move to someplace safer." I nodded. He gave me a look as if sizing me up in my power armor. "Listen. When we first met, you said you were glad to help. Well you did. And we owe you our lives." He handed me something. "So here. It ain't much but it's the best way I can say thank you. He handed me several fusion cells and a bag of bottle caps.

"What's with the bottle caps?" I asked, "What're they for?"

"It's currency," Preston replied giving me a strange look. So bottle caps were post war currency huh? Okay then.

"I didn't do it for the money," I replied rather hotly.

"Hey," Preston said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I'm used to everyone being in it only for themselves."

"I'll let it slide this time," I said jokingly. He smirked giving me a look.

"You know," He said, "You remind me of some of my friends. The other Minutemen, the ones who gave their lives for something bigger than themselves. You should come with us to Sanctuary. We could use the help." Sanctuary? Was he referring to Sanctuary Hills?

"Fine," I said nodding, "I'm in."

"Oh…." Mama Murphy said, "That's wonderful! But there's more to your destiny, isn't there? I've seen it. I know your pain."

"My Destiny?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

"I know you believe in my sight now kid," Mama Murphy said, "You saw it come true for yourself. The Deathclaw was the face of death I warned you about."

"I admit," I said going with it, "That there is something going on with your vision. Whether it's real or not, I have yet to determine." But her statement next made me a believer.

"You're a man out of time," She said, "Out of hope. Your wife…..I am so sorry. Waking up to this horrible nightmare must have taken a toll on you. To see your former home…...all your friends…..gone by nuclear fire. To see you find a glimpse of your former life. Your resolve for finding him. Your resolve for answers, for revenge. I know it. I feel your pain. I know that you're a strong warrior, and that the dimming hope of never finding him. But all's not lost. I can feel…." Her next words almost made me break down. "...your son's energy. He's alive and safe. Safer than any person in the Commonwealth." I exited the power armor and walked over to her getting on my knees. I believed she had it. There's no way anyone could have known what happened down in that Vault.

"Where is he?" I asked her, "Where is my son? Where is Shaun?" The others looked at me with a different tone.

"Oh," She said heartbreakingly, "I wish I knew kid, I really do. But it's not like I can see your son. I can just….feel his life force, his energy. He's out there. And even I don't need the sight to tell you where you should start looking. The great green jewel of the Commonwealth. Diamond City. The biggest settlement around."

"What's in Diamond City?" I asked, "Is Shaun there?"

"I don't know," Mama Murphy said, "But I'd start looking there. I'm a bit tired now. I'll do you a favor, maybe if you bring me some Chems later on, the sight will paint a clearer picture."

"No!" Preston said, "Mama Murphy, we talked about this. That junk….it's going to kill you."

"Oh shush Preston," Mama Murphy replied, "We're all gonna die eventually. We barely escaped death today. We're gonna need the sight. And our new friend here, he's going to need it too. I'll not hear anything more about me not using Chems. Now let's get going. Sanctuary awaits."

Preston nodded defeated. "Alright folks," He said to the settlers, "Thanks to our friend here, it's safe to move out." Everyone started to get up. "We're heading to that place that Mama Murphy knows about: Sanctuary. It's not far." No it wasn't.

"She knows about it?" Marcy spoke up with an attitude, "You means he had one of her visions while she was stoned out of her gourd. And now you just want us to head out on a wild goosechase based on no better plan than Mama Murphy Saw It?"

"It can hardly turn any worse than-" Preston started to argue but Sturges intervened.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, hold on," He said getting between the two, "Everybody just take it easy. We're all in this together right?" Everyone just put their heads down knowing that Sturges was correct. "So Marcy. You got a better idea of what we should do next?" She didn't answer. Sturges looked at everyone else. "Anybody?" No one answered. "Well then. Sanctuary it is. Let's just hope it lives up to its name."

"Let's go Jun," Marcy said to the man who seemed as if he was suffering from PTSD.

"Huh?" He asked, "Oh, okay."

I pulled the wagon behind me in my bulky power armor following the group. I mostly ignored the conversations that went on between the group, mostly the ones between the asian couple. One acted like a bitch and the other seemed to cowardly. When we passed the Red Rocket, Sturges voiced his opinion.

"Well look at that," Sturges spoke looking at the Red Rocket, "I think I just found my new vacation home."

"That your idea of heaven Sturges?" Preston asked.

"You betcha," Sturges replied.

"Probably some decent salvage in there," Preston said, "We could probably check it out later." There was still protests from Marcy, but everyone seemed to ignore her. I kept quiet the entire walk, mostly letting what Mama Murphy said, sink in. Shaun was alive. I had to believe her. She said he was also safe, safer than anyone out here. But he was not safe until I found him.

It wasn't long before we came across the Minuteman Statue near the Sanctuary Hills bridge, Preston noted it. "Well I'll be damned," He said looking impressed, "It's the monument to the original Minutemen. I knew it was somewhere here around Concord. That means this right here must be the old North Bridge. Where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. I'd call that the best omen we've had since we left Quincy."

"Yeah," Sturges said, "I don't know what you're talkin' about Boss, but I'm glad you're happy about it." I smirked. Not surprising that people today didn't know what the Minutemen Monument was for, it probably had become pretty much lost knowledge to people these days. At least someone knew. When we walked over the bridge Preston started thinking of the possibilities.

"This is Sanctuary huh?" Preston said, "Looks like this is a good place to settle and call home."

"Uh boss," Sturges said looking ahead, "I think somebody already set up shop here." He pointed at my home and the fortifications Codsworth and I made.

"You don't have to worry about it," I spoke, "This is my home. I built all of that with my robot."

"You did?" Preston asked.

"Yeah," I replied as we stopped outside my home, "I used to like living here….before the war."

"What do you mean?" Preston asked, "Before what war?" Then he caught on, "Are you saying what I think you're saying."

"I lived here…." I spoke, "Two hundred years ago. I was frozen or something….for most of it. Just woke up a couple days ago."

"Damn…" Preston said, "Like one of those Pre-war Ghouls. And you say you were frozen? Anybody else frozen like that?"

"My son," I spoke, "Somebody took him away while I was still trapped in a partially thawed Cryostasis pod. I've been looking for him. Trying to find him is the reason I found your group."

"Damn," Preston said, "I'm sorry. I hope you find him. Let me know if there's anyway I can help." I nodded. "Anyway I am glad you're here. And I hope you don't mind, I've got word from another settlement asking for help. They're still hoping that there are minutemen out there somewhere. The only chance to start rebuilding the minutemen is to show people that they can count on us when they need us. Trouble is, I've got my hands full here. Do you think you can help out the settlement?"

"What kind of help do they need?" I asked.

"Sounded like the usual," He spoke, "Raiders. They'll most likely have details. Probably a gang forcing them to hand over food."

"I'll help anyway I can," I spoke.

"That's fantastic," Preston said, "The minutemen could use more people like you. By the way, if you want to help out around here at all, talk to Sturges. I'm sure he could use all the help he can get."

"Do you people know what you're doing?" I asked kind of put off. They've been asking for help since I found them. "How have you all survived this long? I may have underestimated some things out here, but I didn't grow up in this world. I grew up in a world where the government was still around. How have you not learned anything."

"No need to be an asshole about it," Sturges remarked.

I sighed. "Sorry," I said, "I've had a lot to deal with. I didn't think I'd aid in building another settlement. I thought it was all over with."

"You've done this before?" Preston asked.

"Yeah," I spoke, "There's a lot I've done before the war. Some of it, went down in history. But other things were not apart of it. I doubt there was anyone alive who remembers it. The army kept a tight lip on things I did in Spec Ops. The only one that I know of who could've known these days was my wife...and she's dead. Anyways, one of the things I had done as a Captain while apart of the 108th regiment in the army was aid in a rebuilding effort on allied soil. With budget cuts, the government assigned us that for a few months until an engineering battalion would arrive. It helped that growing up before I moved to Boston, I lived on a small farm...or a homestead."

"So you're a self taught engineer?" Sturges asked.

"Yes," I replied, "As I said. There's a lot of things I'm good at. I was what you would call the Jack of all Trades. But I've gotten rusty. Being on ice has pretty much drained me."

"Drained you?"

"I can remember how to do everything," I said, "But my physical skills have suffered. Being on ice numbs your body. Of course it'll have effects on your physical being. Anyways, that's off topic, let's get you all settled in for the day. It's been a rough day for you. Tomorrow, I'll see what I can do to help before leaving for that settlement. Where is that by the way?"

"Tenpines bluff," Preston spoke.

"Tenpines forest?" I asked showing him a map of the Commonwealth, "I hunted out that way one time. Is it on the bluff here?" I pointed it out. It was East of Sanctuary.

"Yeah," Preston replied, "That's it."

"Good," I spoke, "I'll head out when everything here's squared away." They walked in, Sturges immediately commenting on my set up.

"You've been busy…." Sturges said, "How long did you say you were out of Cryo?"

"Around five days," I replied walking over to Johani's carport after dropping off the supplies I gathered under my own. I exited my power armor and removed the fusion core. The sun was almost going down and there wasn't much more that could be done. Codsworth floated out the house to greet us.

"Mr. Nate!" He said, "Glad to see that you're back. Did you find any assistance in Concord?"

"Somewhat," I replied to him, "I made some new friends."

"Can't have enough of those these days," Codsworth said, "I realize that I'm no Mister Gutsy, but if needed, I'd be honored to accompany you throughout the Commonwealth. Just say the word."

"Very well Codsworth," I replied nodding, "I'm not doing anything right now except getting these people settled in. I want you to drag couches or intact beds back here. It's been a long day Codsworth."

"Yes sir," Codsworth replied getting to work immediately. There wasn't more to anything after that. Everyone fell asleep, finally able to sleep after a long harrowing day.

…...


	4. Tenpine's Bluff's Dilemma

**Chapter 4: Tenpines Bluff's Dilemma**

I woke up the next morning with Dogmeat laying right beside the couch I was lying on. I briefly recalled the previous days of setting out to find Shaun and coming across a group of ambushed survivors in Concord. With the group in my house temporarily until we could get this place built up, I knew better than to make a lot of racket. I could hear Codsworth floating around outside. Everyone was asleep right here in the living room. I maneuvered around them all before going out into my makeshift workshop. I inspected my Power Armor, which had a buildup of rust on its outer coating. Model A's were notoriously noted for this. It didn't really affect the durability of the rust, because the rust itself was on an outer coating of spray on metal, not the actual armor.

I tinkered with it a little bit, working on the subsystems of the helmet. I had to make a few minor adjustments to the fusion core charge meter, and the ammo capacity meter was definitely tricky. I had to rerun circuits and reprogram the hand sensors for the armor. Hand sensors are how the ammunition meter worked. They sent out jolts of information once the weapon kicks, or fired, when the trigger finger is pulled. Calibrating the sensors was the toughest part. This took around an hour, just in time for the sun to rise over the forest. That meant that I spent two hours working on this thing. Dogmeat explored Sanctuary Hills, while Codsworth obeyed instructions I had given him while I worked, to move my weapons workbench, armor workbench, and chemical station to under my garage against the side of my house.

Preston and Sturges were the first ones to wake up. "Early morning riser?" Sturges asked me.

"Yeah," I replied, "Figured I'd work on this Power Armor a little."

"What's the plan for today?" Preston asked.

"Well," I spoke, "I've pretty much scrapped a lot of junk around Sanctuary, or it is piled up ready to be scrapped. We can start there. With all of you here it shouldn't be too hard to begin. I'll leave Codsworth with you. He's been helping me so far." I pulled out a notebook on some of my _Do-It-Yourself_ designs. "Sturges here. There's a design in here for a Water Purifer in here that I came up with. If you follow the instructions, it shouldn't be too hard to build the pieces. When I come back, which I will, we'll build it. I figured since you liked to tinker, you'd be more suited to building it. Preston, when I return, I guess we can draw up plans to make this place a little more livable and give everyone jobs, when I return. For now, you all are safe. Codsworth has been here for two hundred years and only deals with Radroaches or bloatflies."

"That sounds doable," Preston replied nodding, are you leaving to Tenpine's Bluff?"

"Yeah," I replied nodding, "I had everything ready to go last night. Dogmeat and I are getting ready to leave."

"Very well," Preston replied nodding.

With that, I geared up and left with Dogmeat. Getting to Tennpines Bluff was going to take a while as I was sticking to the roads as much as I could. The reason being was that I didn't trust the woods at all. This land had changed a lot since I was around 200 years ago. The wildlife was mutated and more dangerous than before. I had to trust my gut to stay with the road. Getting to Concord only took two hours, this time around mostly because I had been on the road beforehand and knew that the path was pretty much clear. It didn't stop me from staying alert though. I made sure to follow the road as soon as I got to the intersection so that I'd walk the outside of Concord's City limits, though it didn't stop me from going through the neighborhood of Concord's Northernmost limits. I literally walked pass the street that the Museum was on. I noticed the Concord truckstop where eighteen wheeler's were parked with shipping containers. But the sounds of a little girl screaming and a gunshot echo were what really caught my attention.

Dogmeat and I crept down the sloped road and stopped at the lot's entrance peaking out above a rusty car near a small ledge with a tree and brush on it. There were five people total, three of them were harassers. The other two were a little girl, and the older one was an older man. There was a body on the ground near them. I immediately knew that the harassers were Raiders.

"Not so tough now that you don't have any ammo in that gun huh old man?" One of them said kicking the older man down to the ground. "Beating you to death is going to be so much fun."

"Fucking that little girl's going to be better!" Another said, which caused the other's to laugh.

"Maybe we should let him watch first huh?" The third said.

"Yeah," The first Raider said as the second grabbed the girl, "Let him watch while we each have a turn with his little bitch."

"No," The older man said, "Please….don't."

The group laughed. "Please," The first mocked in a false begging tone, "Please don't do it. Please don't kill me, Please don't rape my little girl." He returned to his harsh Raider deal. "It's always the same with you people, nobody cares what you want. Only the badasses survive out here. We do what we want, when we want. And what are you going to do to stop us huh? Nothing. I'll tell you what though. We're going to put our dicks right in her tight, innocent‑"

A single bullet from my pistol blew his head off. "Dogmeat sick 'em," I spoke. Dogmeat barked before bounding off towards the Raiders. The Raiders immediately started to panic and began to prepare for Dogmeat with crude melee weaponry. I fired another round at another raider immediately, hitting one in the abdomen. The other was panicked so much, he wasn't prepared for Dogmeat tackling him. I made my way forward at a quickened pace with my gun trained on the Raider I shot. Dogmeat finished ripping out the man's throat. The Raider was on the ground holding his gunshot wound.

"Please!" He begged me as I came up to him holding a hand out, "Don't, DON'T!" I silenced him with a gunshot to the head before holstering my gun.

"Are you two alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," The older man said, "Thank you stranger."

"No need to thank me," I replied nodding, "Just doing what was right."

"Thanks Mister!" The little girl said.

I nodded towards her. "Are you two out here alone?"

"Yes," The older man spoke. Dogmeat went over to the little girl sniffing her before wagging his tail.

"Why don't you join my group?" I asked, "We're settled down over in a place called Sanctuary."

"Settled down?" The man spoke, "I didn't think there were any settlements around here."

"We are just starting up this settlement," I spoke, "It started with me, then I came across a group of travelers who were looking for a place to call home. They're there at the moment."

"Who's in charge there?" The old man asked.

"At the moment," I spoke, "I guess I am. Long story short, they made me the leader there. I'm doing a favor for a friend at the moment and figuring out what's going on at a place called Tennpine's Bluff."

"I see," The man spoke, "Is there enough room for us at this Sanctuary?"

"Of course," I replied, "Getting there is easy too. Just follow that road through Concord and only make right turns on it. When you come across the footbridge, you've made it there. It's a prewar neighborhood."

"I see," The older man said, "We'll do just that. Thank you."

"No problem," I replied, "My name's Nate by the way."

"Clinton," The older man replied, "And this is my daughter Charlie." His daughter was currently playing with Dogmeat who was rolled over on his back as she rubbed his belly.

"Nice to meet you both," I replied as I pulled an N99 10mm pistol out of my backpack as well as a spare magazine. "Here." I handed it to him. "When you get there, ask for Preston. He was the guy who was leading the group to Sanctuary before I found them. Tell him I sent you and the dog was named Dogmeat just in case they have trouble believing your story; not that they won't."

"Thank you," The older man said, "We'll leave right now then. Come on Charlie."

"Okay daddy," The girl replied. We parted ways, with me continuing down the road.

A few minutes into our walk down the sloped road, I came across half a bus. Dogmeat went inside first and barked. I walked in to see him looking at a first aid box near the front. "Good boy," I said before opening it up. It had two Stimpaks inside.

Continuing on down the road, I took a left right where a large quarry was located. I remembered the Quarry was known as Thicket Excavations Quarry before the war. It was where they were mining for resources. I quickly updated my map by putting an icon where it was. I continued up the road for maybe another hour or so before making it up to the top of the slope at an intersection. Being keen on my surroundings I noted a large billboard with some kind of crate on it with makeshift stairs leading up to the service walkway. Curiosity got the best of me, so I ended up getting up there to discover welding goggles and a couple .45 caliber bullets. The welding goggles were actually in good shape, so I took it and the bullets. I doubled back to the intersection, and instead of going North, Dogmeat and I walked up through a dirt road. The dirt road led to a dirt parking lot where many cars and trucks were around. It looked like someone tried to set up came here a long time ago. The rusted fence was basically the barricade to the Hunting Club, in which some kind of large vehicle or more had plowed through it and became trapped in the area below. I saw several crates, old refrigerators and other junk down there. But there was also some wildlife down there in the form of dogs. Wild mongrels is what they were. There were about six of them. One noticed Dogmeat and I and barked before bounding towards us. As soon as the others spotted us, they came at us too. I immediately began firing at them. Of course, Dogmeat had to get in on the action as well. He tackled the second dog that came at us, the two locked in a dogfight. I fired at the others, dispatching them with an entire magazine. Dogmeat finally got his jaws around the neck of one of the dogs and started shaking into the wild dog's neck violently. The dog finally went limp. I nodded at Dogmeat for his victory.

Knowing that there was a Hunting lodge on the other side of the forested hills, I decided to scavenge the area for anything useful. The only thing I found was two containers of bottlecaps in a refrigerator, which was good enough for me. I continued on, noting that it was ten minutes pass noon. I came across the area that Preston had marked on my map, known as Tenpines Bluff. The hunting lodge I had known about before hand wasn't standing save a couple of derelict walls and the floor. There was a settler working a garden that was between the derelict lodge and a shanty-like building.

"Excuse me," I spoke as the settler didn't seem to notice me, "Who's in charge here?"

"That'd be me," someone said coming from the shanty building. He had a shotgun pointed at me, "What do you want? We don't want anymore trouble around here."

"Take it easy," I replied deciding it best to announce my intentions. Obviously the man was distressed, "I'm with the Minutemen. I'm here to help."

The settler's tone changed immediately. "You're with the Minutemen?" He asked, "I didn't really think you fellas still existed. We sent word with one of them passing traders, but honestly, I never expected anything to come of it. Most people don't put much stock in the Minutemen these days, after Quincy. Bad Business, that."

I made a mental note to ask Preston what happened at Quincy. "Don't worry about that. Is there something you need my help with?"

"Oh!" The man said, "of course. I'm glad you're here. There's been a Raider Gang that's been giving us trouble for weeks. Stealing food and supplies, threatening to kill us both if we don't pony up. We know where they're coming from, but we can't go up against a gang like that."

"Where are they?" I asked.

"The Corvega Assembly Plant," The man said, "Over in Lexington."

"Very well," I spoke nodding, "I'll take care of them for you."

"Thank you," The man replied, "Thank you so much."

I nodded. Dogmeat and I doubled back towards Concord. Before it got dark, I settled down into the third floor of the Museum, where Preston and the others were held up when I came across them. I made sure to take safety measures to keep my stay as safe as possible. One was by tying the entrance double doors together with a rope and the other was barricading the door to the office itself. After eating some rations the next morning, Dogmeat and I set out towards the Corvega Assembly plant which was South out of Concord. Along the road, pass another neighborhood, I found someone sitting near a billboard. Their companion was a…two headed cow.

She was resting. "So what's your story?" She asked as I got closer," Looking to trade, rob me, or just ask directions to Diamond City?"

"You're a trader?" I asked eyeing the cow with discomfort.

"Yep," The woman said, "The name's Carla, though people call me Trashcan Carla because I come across a lot of junk that some people find useful. What's the matter kid? Never seen a Brahmin before?"

"No ma'am," I replied, "As for trading, I'm kind of in charge of a community called Sanctuary. The town folk there could probably find something to trade with."

"Hmm," Trashcan Carla spoke pulling out a map, "I'm not familiar with Sanctuary. Where's it at?"

"We're just starting the settlement," I said then pointed it out on the map, "Right here."

"Oh," Carla spoke nostalgically, "Haven't been up that way before. Guess I might as well see what's to it, might even tell the other caravans."

"Thank you," I replied nodding, "Now I've got to keep moving. I've got a job to do."

"Good luck kid," Carla spoke, "The Commonwealth's gettin' more dangerous every day. Hope you finish whatever it is you're doing."

"Thanks," I replied nodding before continuing down the road. I came across an old diner that Nora and I used to go out to eat at, around thirty minutes into the walk. But there was some kind of confrontation going on.

"We had a deal Trudy," A man spoke, "Hand over the goods you owe us."

"I ain't giving you poison-shilling chem pushers anything!" An older woman yelled from within the diner, "Do you have any idea what that junk has done to my boy!?"

"He bought them fair and square Trudy!" The man argued back, "It ain't our fault if he's strung out. Now don't me come in there and shoot up that trading post of yours." The two harassers noticed my presence. "This doesn't concern you Vault-boy!"

I already had an idea of what was happening. "What's going on here?"

"A simple business dispute," The man said, "Trudy is sitting on a pile of goods she owes me. I tried reasoning with her, but it looks like I gotta take what's mine by force. The name's Wolfgang. Wanna make some easy money? Help me out. I could use another gun. Or maybe you think you can talk some sense into her?"

"If I help," I spoke playing him, "I expect to get paid."

"I'm not here to haggle," Wolfgang responded, "You'll get whatever I feel like giving yah, got it? Now what's it going to be?"

"I guess I will-" Wolfgang or his female companion didn't expect me to assault them. Wolfgang had let his guard down just enough for me to act. I whipped out my N99 and unloaded my magazine into him and the companion as soon as the gun left my holster.

"You alright ma'am?" I asked the older lady as she held her gun tightly.

"Yeah," She said, "ha, ha, I can't wait to see the crows feeding on that scumbag. Come on over here. This is for you. You ever need to trade, my shop is open."

"You got things covered from here?" I asked taking a bag of bottle caps.

"Yeah," Trudy replied nodding, "It's going to take my son a while to get off the Chems, but we'll make it. We always do. Now let's get back to business. You need anything for the road?"

"No ma'am," I replied, "I'm fine." I did however take the caps and ammo off the two dead Chem dealers before continuing on my journey eventually coming across a small house off to the right and a derailed train further up the road around another mile or so. The train was a military grade. I decided to check it out, just for the hell of it. Inside the train cars which were locked, were a lot of military grade barricades, several crates of ammunition and I almost crapped myself when I came across a security cage with a Power Armor Frame inside and it looked like there were crates inside which held the armor. I saw that it was marked T-45a armor. So this was another T-45 Power armor. If it were someone else, they'd wonder why I'd want it if I already had a set back at home. The reason was simple. I'd rather have it than someone else getting their hands on it. Looking at the terminal that it was connected to, I could tell that I'd need to come back. You'd have to be a hacker who was used to advanced security programs. I marked this location on my map, due to the fact that this was some technology that I could use for later. I continued on until I spotted Lexington. It sure had changed.

Lexington used to be a thriving town, having all the amenities of functioning town. The highway entrance to the town had a Red Rocket Station between a laundromat, a place called Slocum Joe's, and several apartment buildings. I noted a parking garage and the Super Duper Mart as well. The overpass that had once arced over that town had collapsed. On the other side of the overpass was the Corvega Assembly factory. Even from this distance, I could see people walking the tops of the massive plant. I may have bit off more than I could chew by agreeing to stop the Raider gang.

"Fuck," I grunted. Dogmeat tilted his head. "Don't worry boy, Just working through some things. Look's like we're going to be doing some recon." I had spent the better part of the day circling the Factory, discovering that all the entrances were pretty much sealed up or guarded. Going in the front way was not an option. If things were bad enough, Lexington itself was crawling with Ghouls who seemed to be getting killed by a Raider on a sign launching mininukes down below. It was almost by accident that I discovered a large drainage pipe that was between two buildings under the overpass. It led straight inside the factory. If I hadn't seen a Feral Ghoul walk into the tunnel, I would've missed it.

The first time I saw one, I thought it was a zombie. They reeked and they moaned and hissed. Their movements were staggered, like malnourished walking corpses. Dogmeat and I carefully and quietly followed the ghoul into it. There was light up ahead and gunfire as soon as we lost sight of the ghoul. It sounded like an automated turret. I nodded to Dogmeat who kept quiet. I pulled out a Frag Grenade before getting close to the destroyed section of the pipe.

"Damn ghouls just keep coming," I heard voices, "Wish Jared would get this second turret up already."

"Yeah," Another spoke.

"Oh well," The first said, "Let's see what they had in their clothes pockets." I could hear them wade through water sloshing around. I pulled the pin and tossed the frag Grenade in the opening. An explosion killed the two Raiders and destroyed the turret. I made it a point to loot everything that I could carry before moving on through a service tunnel lined with tin can alarm traps. When I got down the tunnel and up a flight of stairs, I noticed there was a split in my path. I decided to take the door instead of the maintenance hall. Winding up in a firefight with Raiders and a turret inhabiting the room was not planned. Using cover tactics I had been trained to use in my time in the Military, I easily won the firefight as these Raiders were untrained. The room I was in, it looked as if they were experimenting with building fire based weaponry. I knew if I survived this ordeal, I could easily come back and start scavenging the place. I just had to make sure every Raider in Lexington was dead first. I crept up the stairs behind some double doors in the other entrance of the room. I wound up in a waiting area with an elevator, quickly dispatching two Raiders before nearly being surrounded in three different directions. I quickly took Dogmeat and made sure he got on the elevator before engaging in a firefight using nothing but my N99.

"I'm going to need better equipment," I muttered to myself, "That power armor would come in handy right about now." I continued to dispatch the Raiders as they held positions around me. I held them at bay, letting them waste their ammo before firing in whichever direction had stopped. It was a long and tedious process, taking about ten minutes to actually finish off the Raiders, but I finally done it. I made sure to check every direction, learning that one would lead me in a circle back to the service tunnels, another led me to where hubcaps and engines were built, incidentally being the location of all of their munitions inside a cage, which I had a key that was marked CSK that I got off of one of the Raiders over in Concord. I finally got into the Car assembly room where I fought tooth and nail against unorganized Raiders and two of their turrets.

There was one who survived my attacks, and after reaching him by activating a walkway bridge to extend to the other side, I learned what he was doing.

"That old bitch…." He said looking at me as he backed away from me, "She told me I was going to lead a lot of men to victory when I grew up…..she never mentioned a Vault Dweller." I wondered if he meant Mama Murphy. I shot him in the head. With the room seemingly clear, I made note of all the valuables. Finishing up with clearing out the factory was more tedious than every once I reached the roof. The Raiders were in all directions on walkways that were suspended around smokestacks and silos. When it was all said and over with. I was at the tallest point of the factory, looking out over the commonwealth. It was getting dark, but the factory lights were still on. I could see Fenway Park from here. The ballpark's lights were still bright to this day. Even from here, I could tell there was something different about it. What that was, I didn't know at the moment.

I knew I wouldn't make it back to Tenpine's Bluff to report my success before night completely fell. So I compromised. I started scavenging everything I could, putting it all in piles, mostly in the storage room. Whatever was able to be carried I put it in there and in the carts all around the storage room's entrance. I started with mostly armor, weapons, and ammo, storing all of that in the storage cage and locking it up with technological junk such as military grade motherboards. Anything that could be salvaged was soon put in the storage area; hubcaps, connecting rods, gears, tools, any kind of adhesives, etc. When I finally turned in for the night, I made sure to sleep in the upper floor where the cars were assembled. I made sure to disconnect the walkway with the push of a button beforehand.

The next morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, with Dogmeat sleeping right beside me and a neatly folded old comic book Grognak the Barbarian in The Bosom of the Corsair Queen lay next to the old mattress I had slept on. I didn't cut through Concord again just to get back to Tenpine's Bluff. I took an alternate road, passing Starlight Drive-In Theater. Following this road would eventually lead me right back to the Thicket Excavations Quarry. The trip was uneventful save large mutated deer crossing the road every now and then. But there was a small camp with an actual intelligent ghoul that was stirring something in a pot over the fire. I waved politely.

"Whoo boy," He said, "You may want to keep your distance."

"Just passing by," I called back.

When I arrived back at Tenpine's Bluff, everything looked normal. The settler who asked me to take care of those Raider's was in the garden picking Tato's. "I took care of them," I replied, "Wiped the place clean of Raiders."

"No kiddin'?" The man said dusting his hands off, "That's the best piece of news we've had around here for a good long time." He pulled out a bag of bottle caps. "here this is for you." I nodded getting ready to leave. "One more thing."

"What?"

"We've been talking," the settler spoke, "My wife and I that is. We decided that if you came through, we'd join the Minutemen."

"Oh?"

"If we want things to get better, then we've got to start looking out for each other. You can count on us if you need help down the line." I guess I had inadvertently became one of the Minutemen.

"Very well," I replied nodding, "We'll keep you in the loop. What's your name?"

"Adam," The settler replied, "And my wife is named Denise."

"Adam and Denise," I repeated, "Okay then. You two are the only two out here right?"

"Yeah," Adam replied.

"Setting up defenses wouldn't be a bad idea," I spoke, "And maybe find more settlers to help you guys out. Okay?"

"We'll look into it and send word with a Trading Caravan," Adam said, "But in the meantime, any suggestions?"

I nodded. "Ever used fabrication equipment before?," I asked, "Or a smelter?"

"Yeah," Adam spoke, "I know where I can get both of those."

"Good," I spoke, "Because you're going to need them.

"Why's that?"

"There is safety in numbers and fortifications," I replied, "This equipment will ensure that you can build new homes or anything that this Settlement will need to thrive." I left Tenpines Bluff after that with Dogmeat in tow. I got back to Sanctuary when the sun had passed behind the trees, and the sky was orange. Preston was speaking with Sturges in the middle of the street out in front of my home. Even being back in Santuary, I noticed that everyone had been hard at work. For starters, all the homes that couldn't be saved had been scrapped. Trees had been cut down too. They had all been busy.

"You're back," Preston said in acknowledgement.

"Yeah," I spoke, "Tenpine's Bluff is okay. I took care of their problem. Speaking of which, we'll have to head over to Lexington to get a lot of scrap and weapons. Plus, The settlers at Tenpines Bluff decided to join your minutemen Preston. I gave them some advice, which I think they'll follow too."

"Good news," Preston replied, "Sturges was telling me that you were probably out of the loop with what goes on in the Commonwealth, you know, with you being, fairly new."

"And he'd be right," I replied nodding.

"Can we talk?" Preston asked, "Over in this building?" He gestured to Rosa's building.

"Sure," I replied nodding. We sat down at Rosa's old kitchen table.

"I never told you whatever happened to the Minutemen," Preston spoke, "and how I ended up as the last one."

"I'm listening."

"Have you heard of the Quincy Massacre?"

"I've heard you and Sturges mention Quincy," I replied, "And the settler at Tenpines Bluff mention the settlement, but that's it."

"I know you're new out here," Preston spoke, "But it's important you know about the Commonwealth's history. The Quincy Massacre is where the Minutemen betrayed each other, and the people they were supposed to protect. I was with Colonial Hollis's group. A mercenary group called the Gunners was attacking Quincy; the people there called the Minutemen for help. We were the only ones that came. The other groups…..they just turned their backs. On us, and the folks in Quincy. Only a few of us got out alive. Colonial Hollis was dead. So I ended in charge of the survivors. We never found a safe place to settle. One disaster after another…..you saw how it ended in Concord."

"I know how it feels," I spoke, "to be the last survivor."

"Yeah," Preston replied," I guess you do."

"And as long as you don't give up," I spoke, "The Minutemen will survive. You've got two who pledged support of your group as Minutemen over in Tenpines Bluff."

"I'm not about to give up," Preston spoke, "I can't protect the Commonwealth all by myself. Hell, I could barely protect these people. That's why I'm talking to you. I can't rebuild the Minutemen…but I think you can."

"I don't know about that." I said unsure. I really didn't want to be put in charge. That would mean more responsibility and the less of a chance for finding Shaun. As soon as that thought ran across my mind, I wondered about something. Maybe I could find Shaun and….make the Commonwealth a better place. According to a lot of people out here, it was dangerous out here, and I agreed.

"You saved us in Concord," Preston pressed on, "There wasn't anything in it for you. You've got your own problems to deal with, but you did it anyway. That kind of selflessness has been in mighty short supply around here for quite a while. We need someone who can bring the whole Commonwealth together in a common cause. And I think you've got it in you to be a leader. The minutemen themselves are citizen soldiers, the people of the Commonwealth banding together to protect ourselves and decide our own future. That was the original idea, and it was a good one. The minutemen fell apart because our leaders forgot what it was we were supposed to stand for. I think you're the one who can bring the minutemen back, and bring the whole Commonwealth together. You said you were once a soldier and you had been in many situations where you led people. Tactically, you would be the best choice."

I let out a sigh. "I'll do it," I spoke finally giving in.

Preston sighed in relief as well. "Good," He spoke, "Good. I feel like this is a whole new start for us then. It's good for us and the Commonwealth. I'll be right beside you all the way….General."

"General?"

"The leader of the Minutemen is always known as the General," Preston replied, "Our last leader was General Becker. After he died back in '82, nobody could agree on who would take his place. The one good thing about being the last Minuteman is there's no one to argue with me when I say you're the new general."

"True."

"Now it's your job to make it more than just an empty title."

"I'll do my best," I replied, "But know this Preston. I'm only agreeing to this because I'm looking for my son. He is my priority. I will help as much as I can, but if I get even a whisper of where he's at, I'm going to investigate it."

"I understand," Preston replied, "I don't blame you."

"Now," I spoke, "Let's get Sturges and meet me at the workshop."

A few moments later we were at my workshop, looking over a generic map of Sanctuary Hills. I had a couple of these. "I've been thinking about defenses. We're going to need to wall the neighborhood."

"Agreed," Preston said, "Sturges had been going over all the scrap we have collected. If there's anything we can do and nothing else. That is walling in Sanctuary from here…." He pointed at the South side of the bridge. "….circling all around back to here." He ended up pointing at the end of the concrete riverside of the park. We should be covered for the most of part as far as the river goes."

"Yeah," I said, "Looks good, One thing though. We're going to need to build gates here and here." I pointed at the bridge and the path to Vault 111. And as for this area…." I ran my finger along the rocky cliff sides of the stream that ran long behind my house's side of the neighborhood and acted as a dividing line between us and the Northwest countryside. I don't think we'll have to worry about walls. The natural cliff is not scalable by people."

"What about creatures such as Deathclaws or Molerats?"

"Even our wooden fences can't stop a deathclaw," I replied, "That one in Concord climbed prewar buildings like they were nothing. And Molerats can burrow underground."

"Good point," Sturges replied.

"Though once the walls are completed," I spoke, "The workshop will still be needed."

"Of course," Sturges spoke, "And we'll just limit it to us. I know you don't want people poking around in your stuff boss so we'll do it that way. Essential personnel only."

"Acceptable," I replied, "How is the water purifier going?"

"I've got all the pieces assembled," Sturges spoke, "But there is a problem with it. Your design has it being over water."

"Yeah," I said, "It'll be the only weakness we'll have. But purifying water without a machine such as that isn't impossible, it's just tedious and not entirely impossible. Do you all know how to do it?"

"Not a clue," Sturges spoke, "We always got our purified water through Trading caravans."

"I'll teach you guys and draw up some schematics," I replied, "Anyways, get everyone started on these three things. The perimeter, the gates, and the water purifier."

"Will do boss," Sturges said, "We'll get started first thing in the morning."

"Good," I spoke, "How's our two new residents doing?"

"They're settling in nicely," Preston spoke, "I'm glad you brought them in. We could use the extra hands and it's safer for the girl to stay in a place where she won't have to look over her shoulder. Though, I'm also glad you put us on the map with Trashcan Carla. More business for all of us if you ask me."

"True," I replied nodding, "Once this settlement is walled in, we can proceed. Tomorrow though, I am heading to Diamond City to look for clues of my son."

"Gotcha," Preston said, "I'll go with you."

"No," I spoke, "I don't want to leave this group defenseless. When the walls get up and I we get some defenses up, we'll see about then Preston. I'm even going to leave you Codsworth to aid in the construction."

"Very well," Preston said kind of put off, "I don't like it but…."

"I know," I replied, "But I think we're going to need a Minuteman at every settlement. At the moment, we only have enough for one squad and we're too spread out."

"Agreed," Preston said, "But there is one thing I have to ask."

"Shoot," I answered.

"On the way to Diamond City," Preston continued, "Do you think you can aid a settlement? It is between here and Diamond City."

"Sure," I replied nodding, "Just tell me where."

"Oberland Station," Preston spoke, "Trashcan Carla mentioned that the residents there were in a bad way."

"I'll handle it," I replied nodding. Don't worry." With some busy couple days behind me, I caught up with the rest of Sanctuary and fell asleep soon after.


	5. Paranoia of the Great Green Jewel

**A/N: I released this just when my DLC Automatron started to download. I hope you like this next chapter. Review to tell me what you think.**

 **Chapter 5: Paranoia of the Great Green Jewel**

I sitting in a hollowed out building on the second floor that was located on the outskirts of Lexington. Dogmeat and I were enjoying a break from our journey to Oberland Station and Diamond City. Preston had given me a lot to think about. He basically wanted me to lead a militia of people in helping the people of the Commonwealth. I could do it, there was no doubt in my mind. But I was a twenty-five-year-old man. I used to lead a squad, not an army. He seemed to think I was capable, but I wasn't too sure. I'd give it my best shot, yeah. But, I couldn't concentrate on just building a militia. I had to prioritize my goals.

I was almost done with my meal when my Pipboy made a Pinging sound. That meant that there was a radio signal. I tuned in on it seeing the different options. _Classical Radio, Diamond City Radio,_ and _Military Frequency AF95;_ the latter being highlighted as new. I turned it on.

" _Automated Message Repeating, this is Scribe Halen of Reconnaissance Squad Gladius to any unit in transmission range. Authorization Arks Farrow 95. Our unit has sustained casualties and we're running low on supplies. We are requesting for support or evac from our position at Cambridge Police Station."_

I knew where that was. I had been in Cambridge before and knew of the Police Station as I had passed it a couple times. It was on the way, so I figured I'd check the signal out. About an hour or so later, I came up on Cambridge, from the College Square entrance of the town. No sooner than I stepped into the streets, I recognized the choatic sounds of gunfire and laser fire. I knew it was coming from the Police Station. But what I didn't expect were feral ghouls coming out of the woodwork, all seemingly drawn towards the gunfire. I pulled out my N99 and began shooting at each and every one of them, killing them immediately with headshots. I sustained myself, taking careful shots. I attracted a few of them, but it didn't seem to do any good to deter them from the gunfire. I left bodies everywhere, noting that College Square had once been used by Raiders before it was apparently overrun with feral ghouls.

"Dogmeat stay on my six," I spoke. I followed a Ghoul that walked into a side shop, it looked like a kitchen appliance store that sold refrigerators. The Feral Ghoul walked through the back and was about to go through a hole in the wall before I shot it in the back of the head. I could see a man in T-60 power armor fighting off many Feral Ghouls who were overrunning barricades that had been placed around the front of the Police Station. There were two others in some kind of uniform, one of them wounded, the other trying to patch him up. But there were too many Ferals overrunning the group. Two ferals had managed to climb up from the other side of the front patio of the Police Station. The woman that was patching up the man pulled out a laser pistol and shot both of them in the head. I noticed that the Ferals were coming in much quicker than before, all seemingly targeting the group as if drawn there. I knew that they'd be overrun, so it was now or never. A hiss came from behind me. Dogmeat growled and launched himself at one of the three ghouls that had apparently followed me and my faithful dog.

I shot the other two, then jumped down off the ledge coming up to aid the group of soldiers. I fired a round at a Ghoul that was to my right in an alleyway between the station and the building I had come out of, then moved into the double gates where a ghoul had just climbed over the railing of the patio. The medic nor the injured man didn't see it. I shot the ghoul in the back of the head before firing a round at another Ghoul that was coming up on the left flank of the powered armor soldier. I must've startled the medic and the man who was getting patched up because the medic drew her gun on me.

"Check your fire," The powered armored soldier spoke, "The Civilian is here to aid." I closed the double gates behind Dogmeat and I, and we both fired at the Ferals that came through the left or the right entrance. It didn't take long to keep all of them at bay and eventually wipe them out.

"We appreciate the assistance Civilian," The Power Armored man spoke to me, "But what is your business here?"

"Just trying to survive out here," I replied, "Just like everyone else. I heard your broadcast and decided to see what was happening. As I got closer to Cambridge, I heard gunfire and saw that you were attracting Feral Ghouls. Figured, I'd lend a hand."

"The way you charged in and engaged those Ferals?" The soldier said, "I have a hard time believing you're _just trying to survive_. Are you from a local settlement?"

"I'm from Vault 111," I replied, "And I started up a settlement in Sanctuary Hills, which is one the other side of Concord.

"You're a Vault Dweller?" The man said, "Most people wouldn't admit to such a thing. I appreciate the honesty. As for Sanctuary Hills, I've seen the location on our maps, but I've never visited the area myself. There isn't much over there for us to collect. If I appear suspicious, it's because our mission here has been difficult. Since the moment we arrived in the Commonwealth, we've been constantly under fire." He let out a sigh. "If you want to continue pitching in, if that's your motive, then we could use an extra gun on our side. Your precision with that sidearm is like one of my brothers."

I thought about it for a moment. Judging by the size of the squad and what was left of them, they were a scouting squad. I was generally interested in them. So I took a leap of faith and did a little persuasive haggling. "I want to help," I replied, "but I don't like the secrecy, which I'm sure you have reasons for. Who are you? Really? I've been honest with you."

The soldier looked at me with acceptance. "Very well," He replied, "I'm Paladin Danse, of the Brotherhood of Steel." He gestured over to his other squad members which the medic was tending to the soldier. "Over there is Scribe Halen and Knight Rhys. We're on Recon duty, but I'm down a man and our supplies are running low. I've been trying to send a distress call to my superiors, but the signal's too weak to reach them."

"Sir," The medic who was known as Scribe Halen said, "If I may?"

"Proceed Haylen," Paladin Danse spoke.

"I've modified the radio tower on the roof of the police station," She spoke to me, "but I'm afraid that it just isn't enough. What we need is something that will boost the signal."

Paladin Danse turned to me. "Our target is ArcJet systems," He spoke, "It contains the technology we need….the Deep Range Transmitter. We infiltrate the facility, secure the transmitter, and bring it back here. So what do you say? Are you willing to lend the Brotherhood of Steel a hand?"

"Before I answer," I replied, "Who are the Brotherhood of Steel?"

"Our order seeks to understand the nature of Technology," Paladin Danse replied, "Its Power. Its meaning to us as humans. And we fight to secure that power from those who'd abuse it." I wondered what he meant by that.

"How did mankind abuse Technology?" I asked.

"Before the Great War," Paladin Danse responded, "science and technology became more of a burden than a benefit. The atom bomb, bio-engineered plagues and FEV are clear examples of the horrors that technological advancements had wrought. We're here to make sure that it never happens again."

I thought back to the very moment that I had witnessed the Atom Bomb blow up on the other side of Boston. The Brotherhood of Steel, according to Paladin Danse, wanted to stop something like that from happening again. "A noble cause," I responded after a few seconds.

"I'm pleased that you agree," Paladin Danse replied, "There are very few outside the Brotherhood who appreciate the gravity of the situation we're facing as a species. So…what do you say? Will you help us?"

"I will Paladin Danse," I replied nodding, "But if I may, I'm actually on a self-imposed mission at the moment."

"Oh really?" Danse spoke, "And what would that be?"

"Someone murdered my wife and kidnapped my child," I replied, "I want to know who. One of the settlers in Sanctuary told me that I may find a clue in Diamond City. If you can wait, I promise to assist you in establishing contacts with your superiors. Give me a few days and I'll return."

"Hmm," Paladin Danse replied, "I see. I understand why that'd be a priority. Very well, I'll give you a week. After that, I'll assume you're either dead or not honorable enough to stand by your word. Either case, I hope it's neither. I'm only going along with this because, at the moment, you seem trustworthy and one of my squad is wounded."

"I don't make promises I don't intend to keep," I spoke.

"That remains to be seen," Danse replied. He walked up to the station door where Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys were. "Haylen. Wake Rhys up taken him inside and finish tending to his" wounds."

"Yes sir," Haylen replied shaking the man awake.

"Huh?" He answered, "What is it?"

"Rhys," Paladin Danse ordered, "Once, you're on your feet, I want you to make certain that the perimeter is secure."

"I'm on it," Rhys said groggily.

"Let's move out people," Danse replied, "Also Rhys, light duty. Do not compromise yourself from injuries that have been reopened. If there is a problem that requires physical activity, report to me and I will personally handle it."

"Yes sir," Knight Rhys replied, then for some strange reason gave me a disgusted look. I took that as my cue to leave, so I did.

I left the group the same way I entered, through the back gate so I could get on the road that passed by College Square directly. Dogmeat and I doubled back to an intersection and crossed a bridge that had a sole factory on the other side known as Beantown Brewery. We both walked through the parking lot and around to the loading bay in the rear of the factory before getting onto the Railroad tracks. Following the tracks South for a good half a mile, we came up on Oberland Station. It was a simple two story tower with a rusty chainlinked fence around a garden of some kind of the same kind of vegetables that Tenpines Bluff grew. And of course, for some reason, Oberland Station only had two settlers inhabiting it.

"Did the Minutemen send you?" One of them asked. It was two women, both wearing tattered outfits, "I can tell you're not a Raider."

"Of course," I replied, "Just tell me what you need help with."

"A group of Raider's that are held up in Back Street Apparel," The settler spoke, "They killed my boyfriend and threatened to do the same to me and my sister if we didn't cooperate."

I sighed. "I'll take care of them," I replied noting that this was similar to the Tenpine's Bluff job.

"Thank you." I didn't pay much attention to her after that. I had heard of Back Street Apparel. It was right on the riverside in Boston and a place that Nora went to once. I kept following the railroad tracks South, knowing that that it went over an underpass. I walked into the access building, downstairs and into the tunnel before going East down the Road a couple of miles. Eventually, I came up on a produce market house that I had once bought fresh vegetables from.

Purely for nostalgic purposes, I walked inside to see that it still operated today as a produce market house. Inside were various vegetables that were definitely not prewar, sitting in planters. A dead Wastelander was sitting atop a wooden crate. He had around fifty caps, which I pocketed. I cleaned off some of the vegetables and ate a few of them to quell a slight pang of hunger, even feeding Dogmeat a Tato. I was quickly educated on what people called this food today. Tato's were similar to prewar tomatoes. Corn was very much the same. Gourds and carrots looked the same just a bit bulkier, melons were much bigger. Through a door with a simple lock on it, I found that the man had a chemistry station set up along with a couple of Day trippers and more plants that were not a part of prewar flora. I also found a lot of seeds that were crop seeds that I fully planned on using back at Sanctuary.

With nothing else left there, we continued on into the city limits of Boston, passing through a small neighborhood, then winding up on the Charles Riverside Road known as Soldier's Field Road. I could see the Boston University Bridge from here. The street was empty save a group of large green men up ahead that was walking up the stairs of the bridge and going deeper into Boston. Dogmeat and I went under the bridge to avoid the said group, noting the prewar military cargo boat to my left, which seemed to have plowed through the drawbridge of University Bridge. We kept moving knowing that we were coming up on Back Street apparel. When we walked up on an eighteen wheeler I could hear voices on the other side. It was Raiders. I got the jump on them and killed the three outside as well as their turrets and traps. The inside was the same way, it took me several minutes to fight through the Raiders, due to their decent setup for a stronghold. When they were all dead, I took the time to loot anything of value, particularly two short hunting rifles and a missile launcher as well as ammo and caps. Apart from that, I left it the way I seen in. With the day getting awfully close to the sun being above the trees, I decided that, even if Diamond City was closer, I'd head back to Oberland Station the exact way I came. The reason being was that it was somewhat, familiar grounds, and I didn't feel like fighting through the city once it was dark. When I arrived at the Railroad tracks, it was dark. Thankfully, I had Dogmeats nose to keep me alert from any hostiles. Oberland station stood out like a sore thumb at night, with two lanterns lighting the place up as well as a campfire. The two settlers were startled, immediately drawing their guns on me.

"Oh…." One of them said, "It's you. Did you have any luck with those Raiders?"

"Yeah," I said, "They're all taken care of."

"Thank God," the other said.

"Yeah," The first replied, "The minutemen do keep their word. We owe you our support."

"Thank you," I replied, "If you don't mind, I'm going to stay here for the night before heading back to Boston."

"Why're you going there?"

"I'm going to check out Diamond City," I replied, "I haven't been there before. I have several things to do there."

The settler seemed to get the message so she changed the subject. "So the Minutemen are back. When did this exactly come about?"

"Recently," I replied, "I saved the last Minuteman and a group of travelers who were looking to settle down somewhere from a Raider gang and a Deathclaw that attacked both parties. Afterwards, the last minuteman and I decided to revive the old faction. He requested that I lead the new minutemen because of my tactical prowess. I didn't agree on a whim either. There are going to be changes too so that what happened last time, won't happen again."

"I see," The settler replied, "How many are there?"

"At the moment," I replied, "There are only five of us. Two are stationed at Sanctuary Hills at the moment and two at Tenpines Bluff, though I doubt that those two know how to fight all that well. Tenpines bluff is sending out word for a request for settlers to join them via the caravans. The same can be done for you two as well. Numbers equal safety out here. I've learned that now."

"I see," One of the two settlers spoke, "Then we'll send word with the next caravan."

The next morning, Dogmeat and I had gotten up and left to Diamond City travelling the same route we did getting into Boston. A feral or two met its demise but there wasn't much resistance after that. I walked up the stairs of Boston University Bridge and looked down the street with my gun drawn. I had been hearing gunfire coming from down this direction, but I also knew that Fenway Park was down here as well, and Fenway Park was apparently Diamond City. Dogmeat was a bit ahead of me as we walked down the street. I hugged the right of the street so I could take cover any time I needed to. As I got closer to the stadium's walls the gunfire got louder. Two people in makeshift armor made out of baseball uniforms or equipment came running from the left street of Fenway Park.

"Damn Super mutants," One of them yelled, "They've pushed the roundabout." As soon as they got to the said roundabout with a tree in the middle of it they too were under fire like much of their fellow armored guards.

"They're about to push us back!" One of the guards said.

"DIE HUMANS!" An overly harsh sounding voice yelled over the gunfire.

I pulled out the hunting rifle I had and started taking shots at the green men who were known as Super Mutants. I always aimed for the head when possible. It was quick, effective, and doing a lot more than what these guards were doing. They seemed to aim for the largest part of the mutant's bodies. I could have taken down more if I hadn't had a bolt action. If it weren't for the fact I was helping defend the guards against savage mutants, I would be enjoying myself. I threw a frag Grenade out at the mutants, blowing two of them up and mortally wounding another who had lost its leg. The guards killed it before it could do anything other than die. I counted around ten mutants that had died since I joined the fight.

"HOUNDS!" A Super mutant on top of the building yelled, "GO GET THEM!" I fired a bullet at the said super mutant watching him fall off the building through service platforms, and on top of one of four highly mutated dogs rushing from a backstreet, crushing it under the super mutants own weight. The other three mutant hounds rushed towards us at an alarming pace. One tackled a guard only to be shot off by another who was tackled himself. He was rescued by two other guards who beat it to death with baseball bats. I heard the monstrous snarl of the last. I looked to see it in midair coming right at me. Before I had time to reload my gun, I simply put my rifle ahead of holding onto it at both ends. But the mutant hound never got close to me. Dogmeat met the animal in midair immediately latching onto its bulky neck. The two were engaged in a dogfight, but I quickly kicked the mutant hound in the head before firing a single bullet from my N99 at it. Dogmeat had a cut, but I injected a Stimpak in him. With all the excitement out of the way, Dogmeat and I proceeded down the street looking at numerous barricades and fortifications that were built up in spots closest to Diamond City. Guards manned the posts as well as the occasional turret.

The main entrance was fortified all over the block. The main gate was closed and there was a woman arguing with someone on the intercom.

"What do you mean you can't open the gate?" She asked then got annoyed., "Stop playing around Danny! I'm in the open here for cryin' out loud!"

" _I got orders not to let you in Mrs. Piper,"_ The voice on the intercom said, _"I'm sorry. I'm just doing my job."_

I had to admit, her response was somewhat hilarious. _"Just doing your job!"_ She said, "Protecting Diamond City mean's keeping me out, is that it? _Oh look! It's the scary reporter!_ Boo!"

" _I'm sorry_ ," The man said clearly not enjoying his time on the other side, " _But Mayor McDonough's really steamed Piper. Sayin' that article you wrote was all lies. The whole cities' in a tizzy."_

The woman known as Piper looked like she was on the verge of exploding. "UGH!" She uttered, "You open this gate right now Danny Sullivan! I live here. You can't just lock me out! Open this gate right now!" No answer. She turned and looked at me before coming over. I controlled my laughter. "Hey you," She said in a hushed voice, "You want into Diamond City right?"

"I just got here," I spoke, "But….yeah."

"Shh," She whispered as she pretty much led me back to the intercom, "play along." Her voice came in normal. "What was that? You said you were a trader up from Quincy? You have enough supplies to get the general store stocked for a whole month? Huh." Man she was good. "You hear that Danny? You gonna open the gate and let us in or are you gonna be the one talkin' to Crazy Myrna about losing out on all the supply."

" _Geez,"_ Danny replied on the other side giving in, _"No need to make it personal, Piper. Give me a minute."_

"Better head inside real quick before ole' Danny catches on to the bluff," Piper spoke as the large gate rose in the air revealing Fenway Park's Concession Stands and ticket booths that were reused as guard posts.

"Ladies first," I spoke.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," The woman said as we walked into the cavernous underside of the stadium.

"Piper!" I heard the sounds of a man say as he came from an elevator, "Who let you back inside!? I told Sullivan to keep that gate shut. You devious, rabble-rousing slanderer. The…level of dishonesty in that paper of yours! I'll have that printer scrapped for parts!"

"Ooh is that a statement Mcdonough?" Piper shot back coolly, " _Tyrant Mayor shuts down the!"_

"Why don't we ask the newcomer?" She asked gesturing to me, "Do you support the news? Cause, the mayor's threatened the throw free speech in a dumpster."

"Always did believe in Freedom of the Press," I replied.

"Oh I didn't mean to bring you into this argument good sir," The mayor spoke trying to get on my good side, "No, no, no….you look like Diamond City material. Welcome to the great green jewel of the Commonwealth. Safe. Happy. A fine place to come, spend your money, settle down. Don't let this muckraker here tell you otherwise, alright?"

"This hasn't exactly been the friendliest welcome….." I spoke.

"He's got you there McDonough," Piper said with finesse, "Guess not everyone gets one over by that shark smile of yours."

The mayor cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Now was there anything in particular you came to our city for?"

"I'm trying to find someone," I answered.

"Trying to find someone?" McDonough asked, "Who?"

"My son," I replied, "Shaun. He's less than a year old."

"Wait…." Piper spoke immediately sounding concerned, "Your son's missing? She turned back to the mayor with aggravation and with a mocking tone. "Oh you hear that McDonough? What's Diamond City Security going to do to help this man huh!? This isn't the first missing person's report to come through here, and now we have an infant who's been taken!?"

"Uh don't listen to her," The mayor said uncomfortably, "While I'm afraid that our security team can't follow every case that comes through, I'm confident that you can find help here." He switched back to his normal propagandized attitude. "Diamond City has every conceivable service known to man. One of our great citizens can surely find the time to help you."

"Great….." I said noting that this guy was only about how great his city was, "Thanks for nothing." This man was the kind of guy I hated. After all, Vault Tec did the exact same thing, and that's how I ended up in the situation I was in now.

"This is ridiculous," Piper said infuriated, "Diamond City Security can't spare one officer to help? I want the truth, McDonough! What's the real reason security never investigates any kidnappings?"

"I've had enough of this Piper," The mayor replied heated now, "From now on consider you and that little sister of yours on notice." He began to walk away.

"Yeah keep talking McDonough," Piper challenged, "That's all you're good for." He ignored her and kept walking towards the center of the city. She turned to me and I loved her level of sarcasm. "Ooh, a big Diamond City welcome from the mayor! You feel honored yet?" I didn't answer, which she awkwardly rubbed her fingerless gloved hands together. "Look I gotta go get settled in, but, um, stop by my office later. I have an idea for an article you'd be perfect for. Cute dog by the way."

"Will do," I replied nodding. She gave me a smile before leaving through the upstairs. I leaned down and scratched Dogmeat on the ear. "Come on boy."

It wasn't what I was expecting, that was for sure. Diamond City was something else. The entire baseball field had been converted into a shanty town, the center being a market area and probably the most used area. I walked down the stairs into the city to see Piper talking with a young girl. "Piper you're back," The young girl said.

"Hey kiddo," Piper replied, "How are the paper sales?"

"Well," The girl said, "The presses are getting overloaded. That motor is going to go soon if we don't replace it."

"Ah," Piper said not worried the slightest, "You've been saying that for weeks, and the old girl still keeps cranking. Stop worrying so much. I gotta head into the office. You start whistling if you see any angry politicians coming our way." Piper started to walk into the office.

"Why is something wrong?" The girl asked. No answer from Piper. "Piper?" Still no answer.

"If anyone is one of those things," A woman said who was standing by another woman who was getting a new hair style from a man in a letterman's jacket at a barber shop known as _Kathy and John's Super Salon_ , "it's his secretary, her and her perfect hair."

"The mayor's secretary?" The man said, "Come on Ma, I cut her hair myself, and I know human hair."

"That's just it Johnny," The mother said, "You wouldn't be able to tell the difference. If you nicked McDonough with your razor he'd bleed. Don't mean nothin'."

"All done Ann," John replied.

"Thank you Johnny," The blonde woman spoke giving him some caps, "Here you go."

" _Would all residents who are not busy at the moment please report to the town meeting area,"_ A familiar voice said, _"Thank you."_ It was Mayor McDonough.

I followed a crowd of people pass a noodle shop that was the centerpiece of the town and run by a Protectron with a chef's hat on. Behind the marketplace was another "street" which led to another part of the town on the other side of the baseball field. There was a meeting area where several benches were set in front of a stage which in turn was in front of the Green Monster. The crowd was large, with Mayor McDonough on the stage with two Diamond City security guards on either side of him. Everyone was chattering away but he got their attention.

"Everybody?" He spoke "Everybody! I need everybody's attention!" Everyone stopped gossiping to listen to the mayor. "I would like to address the subject that is on everyone's mind. And that is the disgusting article that Piper has written…Diamond City has stood united for over 150 years. For two things. First is the Great Green Guardian behind me. The Wall. Our protector and our savior from the filth of the outside. And Second, is our faith and trust in each other. The faith and trust that has given us prosperity, security, and education for every citizen. And while the paper might point their fingers at synths and other ghost stories to drive us apart, we will not betray this sacred trust. Now, I want everyone to listen to hear these next words very carefully. I. Am not. A synth. I am the same flesh and blood boy who grew up on these streets, who was born in a shack on the waterfront to Martha and Patrick McDonough. And I will not abandon my city due to the heinous allegations of the press. God bless this city! God bless the Wall!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause for the Mayor. The mayor had a certain charisma to him, there was no doubt. But not all were convinced of the mayor's speech. There was definitely a mistrust. I overheard a local even say, "He's so full of shit." I wondered what a synth was. It couldn't have been good if the entire town was nervous about them. I kept my thoughts to myself, deciding that I needed to get a feel for the town. Much of the left field where the Green Monster was and the outfield was converted into a farm full of crops and Brahmin, while the right field was flooded with a few buildings atop of the flooded area. The streets were named by base names such as Home Street, First Street, Second Street, and Third Street. Some of the town vendors or "attractions" were named after baseball terms as well _Swatters_ which the owner sold baseball bats and baseball gear, or the _Dugout Inn_ , which was basically a hotel/bar. I even heard a couple residents talking about it in the Dugout Inn outdoor eating area.

"Can't believe you eat that food," One of them said, "only one thing worth buying in the Dugout Inn, and that's the booze."

"Man's gotta eat," The other said with his mouth full, "What can I say?"

"A real Diamond City boy eats at the noodle stand," The other said.

Next to the Dugout in on First Street was a butcher's shop known as Choice Cuts. I was walking from First Street to the market only to see a crowd of people standing around the mouth of the marketplace. One man had a gun trained on another both looking frightened. I put my hand on my gun.

"I'm human!" I heard the one who was unarmed and hands up in the air.

"Don't move Synth," The armed man said threateningly, "What have you done with the real Riley? Where's my brother?"

"I swear I'm not a synth!" The frightened man said, "Don't shoot! For God's sake, We're family!" By this time two Security guards made their way through the crowd their rifles trained on the accuser.

"Sir!" The Security Guard ordered, "Put the gun down! Now!"

"He's a synth!" The man argued back, "He'll kill us all!"

By that time, the guard shot the man in the head, causing some in the crowd to let out a scream of panic and all of them to take cover.

"Kyle!" Riley yelled in shock and sorrow, "No!"

"Okay," The guard yelled at the crowd. "Show's over! There are no Synths in Diamond City, hear me? Just you folks and your damned Paranoia." The crowd muttered to one another in controversy. This only irked the guard even more. "What's everyone still standing around for!? Go back to your own damned business!" The crowd dispersed in different directions.

The officer looked at me with annoyance. "Step away Scavver," He spoke.

"I understand officer," I spoke, "I just want to know what's going on."

"You got bricks for ears?" He said commandingly, "I said step away now."

"Yes sir," I replied. I left the area towards the shops. I was left with bewilderment of the town that acted so cheery, but everything went to hell in a breadbasket when you mentioned something about a synth. What was a synth, anyway? Why did it terrify people into threatening to kill their own family? I tried to push this out of my mind and trade for some things. One of them was at Diamond City Surplus where I was immediately given mistrust from the owner.

"You?" She said, "I don't know you. Just keep your distance."

"Why?" I asked with a confused tone.

"Because I don't know you," The woman said, "and I will not serve a synth pretending to be human."

"Synth?" I asked fed up with not being in the known, "What's a Synth?"

"A synth," She said as if this was common knowledge, "As in _Synthetic Person_? Those things the Institute makes? Look real with hair, and sweat, and blood and…..everything. So are you human or not?"

I stared at her for a moment. What she was talking about sounded like nonsense. A human made in a factory? How was that possible? It couldn't be.

"Human as the day I was born," I replied.

"Well," The woman said nervously, "You do look human enough. But I'll be watching you. I've got eyes like a….well, they're good eyes. Got it?" I stayed silent. Was this crazy Myrna that Piper had mentioned to Danny? It sounded like it. "Alright, we can do business, but no funny stuff."

I nodded. It turned out that Myrna had mostly junk, stuff that scavengers would probably drop off at her place, or settlers would buy for construction. She sold shipments of certain material as well such as adhesives, ceramics, steel, springs, plastic, and springs. If I hadn't left the majority of my money back at Sanctuary, I would have had Adhesive shipped to it. Adhesive was probably the most valuable shipment other than steel.

"Tell me how you handle shipments?" I spoke.

"Like everyone else," She replied, "I send them via caravan to the desired location. The cost of shipment, handling, and security are included in my prices."

"I see," I replied nodding. I ended up buying some adhesives anyways for around a hundred caps.

I looked at another shop called Commonwealth Weaponry. The owner spoke to me before I had a chance to look at his wares. "New guy am I right?" He asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "I'm the new guy."

"Well it's good to have you here," The man spoke, "Name's Arturo Rodriquez. If you need protection let's talk. But I am doubting that due to the Missile launcher on your back. Care to tell me how you came across one? You're a vault dweller so I figure that the story is quite interesting."

"Not really," I said with a grin, "But I did kill a gang of Raiders for it on my way here."

"Ah with what?" Arturo asked.

"This pistol right here," I said pulling out my custom N99.

"May I?" Arturo asked putting on two white cloth guns. I handed it to him as he inspected it expertly. "Custom leather comfort grip and custom powerful receiver. Not bad at all. Are you a gun enthusiast?"

"Second Amendment Advocate," I replied nodding.

"I see," Arturo replied further inspecting the N99, "Although that second amendment is second nature these days. Do you modify your weapons often?"

"I haven't done so in a good while," I replied, "I've been on the road and haven't come across any weapon stores."

"Hmm," Arturo spoke, "If you're settling down, it sounds like you'll be a regular customer."

"Count on it," I replied nodding, "I think I'll buy a sword for now though, I need something just in case I have to engage in close quarters combat."

"That is what shotguns are for."

"So true," I replied, "But at the moment, I'm going to need something that doesn't make too much noise."

"I see," Arturo replied, "Then I have just the thing." He turned around and opened a large footlocker that acted as a case. He pulled out a Chinese Officer's sword that was in high quality. "I am selling this for one hundred and fifty caps, including a holster and straps."

"Deal," I replied handing him the caps, "Any specialty items?"

"I do have a Power Frame," He replied, "But those are expensive, as well as fully charged Fusion Cores for such a thing."

"How much for a fusion core?" I asked.

"Five hundred caps even," Arturo spoke.

"I'll take two," I replied.

"Ohh ho," Arturo said, "Got a set of Power armor do we? Or do you have a Gatling Laser lying about?"

"The first," I replied, "Found it in Concord. Left it back at my place because I didn't want to risk it running out of a charge."

"I see," Arturo responded, "You are a _very_ interesting man. You know that? Not many folks around here are so well equipped."

"Not many folks around here love being a gun nut," I countered.

"This is true," Arturo replied, "Will there be anything else?"

"No sir," I replied shaking his hand, "I'm all set. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"Please," Arturo replied, "The pleasure's all mine."

I walked over to Power Noodles and sat down next to a settler as the Protectron in front of me was stirring noodles. "Nan-ni shimasko-ka?" The protection asked.

"Do yourself a favor and say yes," The nearby resident said to me, "That's all he understands."

I blinked. "Uh….yes?"

The Protectron poured me some noodles in a bowl. "It's fifty caps per bowl," The resident said, "But the taste is worth it."

"Fifty?" I said, "That's a lot."

"I know," The resident said, "But Power Noodles is pretty popular and part of Diamond City culture, so the prices are a little jacked up. The noodles are good though. Try them."

I sighed. "Might as well." And that was how I came across the best tasting noodles and broth I have ever had in my life.

I ended the night by going into the Dugout Inn looking for a room. When I arrived, two Slavic descendants were speaking to one another, both seemingly running the place. "Vadim?" One asked, "Vadim I need to talk."

"Just a minute Yefim," The other spoke, "I am in middle of story." He turned to an apparent customer. "So then, I am crossing through river, wearing nothing but a smile, when out comes the most dangerous of all sea monsters. A Mirelurk!"

"A Mirelurk?" The apparent customer said, "Come on! That's like two points out of ten danger points tops. Now you wanna talk about something really deadly…"

"Vadim!" Yefim spoke frustrated.

"Ugh," Vadim replied in annoyance and sarcasm, "I forgot you were there Yefim. What is it?"

Yefim sighed seemingly fed up, "You know what? Never mind. I'll handle it myself." Yefim and the one holding the conversation with Vadim left in different directions. I walked up to the counter. "You see this bar?" He said to me in a joking manner. "I killed a man for it. Hahahahaha! No. No. I kid…..I kid." He coughed, "He is dead though…..now let me know when you're ready to order."

"So this your bar?" I asked jokingly.

"Damn straight it is," Vadim said, "My brother and I run it and make the best damn Moonshine in the Commonweath. We call it Bobrov's Best. Had to start renting out rooms just so customers had a place to safely pass out after drinking it hahaha."

"I see," I said, "I'll have to try it one day. I'm actually looking for a room for the night. Is that possible?"

"Yeah," Vadim spoke, "Talk to my brother. He handles the rooms."

"Thank you," I replied then walked over to his brother.

"Looking for a room?" He asked.

"Yeah," I replied nodding.

"Ten caps." I gave him the caps and he in turn gave me the key. "Room 2, right through the door." I walked through the door and closed it behind me and Dogmeat. Dogmeat immediately got the idea and laid down next to the bed. I locked the door and set my backpack down on a coffee table along with my missile launcher and sword. Taking off all my armor and my holsters, I set them on the nightstand nearby. It had been a long two days and I was still nowhere close to finding Shaun. All I got out of these people were that there were…..I'd say mythical robots that looked like humans called Synths made by something known as the institute. I sighed as I sat down on my bed rubbing my eyes. I was making so many commitments at the moment, and I knew that I would follow through with them. Between finding my son, becoming the leader of a slowly rekindling group, helping a noble cause with a scouting party from a Brotherhood, and a promised interview by a strangely attractive woman around my age…wait. What did I just say? Those were not appropriate thoughts this close to Nora's death.


	6. The Journalist and Detective

**Chapter 6: The Journalist and Detective**

The next morning, I awoke, got a bite to eat from my rations, knowing that I had very little in way of caps, due to the rest being back at Sanctuary. Originally, I had collected around two thousand five hundred caps. Now I was down to twelve hundred. With two hundred on me at the moment, I couldn't exactly go on a spending spree. I agreed that I needed new clothes, because this Vault Jumpsuit was getting really dirty and wearing blue out in the wasteland was not tactically safe. It stuck out like a sore thumb. After strapping on all my equipment, I left that morning returning the key to Vadim as his brother was asleep at the moment.

Afterwards, I figured I'd start looking for someone to help me find out where my son is. The guards wouldn't be any help, according to Piper. And people were too scared to acknowledge anything about a kidnapping. I eventually found the girl that Piper was talking to on a small pedestal waving around a newspaper.

"Free paper to newcomers," The girl said, "If the Institute grabs you in the night, at least we warned you."

"What's the Institute?" I asked her.

"You ain't heard of the Institute mister?" She asked me, "They snatch people up in the night and no one hears from them again. It's all in the paper. Better read up before they grab you too."

"I believe you," I said, "Thanks."

"You're a real lost lamb in the wolves den mister," She replied handing me the paper, "So what are you doing in Diamond City anyway?"

"I came here looking for someone," I replied truthfully.

"Let me guess," She said, "That someone's gone missing, right? That's what I'm tellin' ya. So who is it?"

"My son who's less than a year old," I replied, "His name's Shaun."

"You have a son mister?" She said, "man you're old." I could tell that Piper was rubbing off on this girl just by meeting them both one time. "You're in bad luck. No one tries to find missing people in Diamond City. Missing people means the Institute is involved. And no one's gonna wanna get the Institutes attention."

"You're a smart kid," I said, "Isn't there someone in town that isn't afraid of this Institute?"

"Well," She said scratching her head, "There is the detective, Mister Nick Valentine. He's not afraid of anything. If anyone can help you it's him."

"Thanks," I said relieved, "You are a big help."

"Remember," She finalized, "The Institute's out there newcomer, watch your back."

"Glad you dropped by," I heard the sound of Piper, "How you holding up blue?"

"Blue?" I asked.

"Cause of the blue jumpsuit you're wearing," She replied in an obvious tone, "You're a Vault Dweller."

"Oh," I said, "Gotta remember to find some new clothes. Might as well do this interview thing while I'm here."

"Good," She said, "Come on in." I followed her inside her home. "So here's the deal. I want an interview. I want your life story in print. I think it's time Diamond City had a little outside perspective of the Commonwealth. You do that and uh….I'll tell you what. I'll come with you, watch your back while you get used to the world above ground."

I weighed my options before agreeing. "Alright Piper," I replied, "I'm in."

"Good," Piper replied, "Let's get down to business." She sat down on her couch and I sat in a chair near her as she pulled out a pen and notepad. "So I know you're from a Vault. How would you describe your time in the inside?"

"My family and I were frozen," I replied, "I didn't spend much time in the Vault."

"Wait," Piper said in confusion, "They boxed you up in a fridge? The whole time? Are you saying you were alive before the war?"

"Yes," I replied, "I'm over 200 years old."

"Oh my god," She replied writing this all down with enthusiasm, " _The Man Out of Time."_ So you've seen the Commonwealth, Diamond City. How does it compare to your old life?"

"Honestly," I said, "Seeing everyone surviving out here? Rebuilding the world? It gives me hope."

"That's surprisingly inspired, Blue?" She said unsurely, "We're definitely quoting that. Now I already know you're looking for your son, Shaun. Do you think the Institute is involved with this kidnapping?"

"I don't know," I replied truthfully.

"No one ever does," She said, "That's what makes them so scary."

"For the last part of our interview," Piper replied, "I'd like to do something different. I want you to make a statement to Diamond City directly. The threat of kidnapping is all but ignored in the Commonwealth. Everyone wants to pretend that it just doesn't happen. What would you say to someone out there who's lost a loved one, but might be too scared, or too numb to the world, to look for them?"

I thought about her question for a moment before answering. "No matter how much you want to give up," I replied, "don't. You have to have hope that you'll see them again. Or at least, that you will know the truth."

She looked at me for a moment thinking about what I said after she wrote it down. "A strong note to end on blue," She said, "Thanks. That's everything. It's going to take some time to put all this together, but I think your story is going to give Diamond City plenty to talk about." She sighed. "Anyway. I agreed to come with you, right? Watch your back? Just say the word when you're ready. I can't wait to see where this story goes next."

"That makes two of us," I replied nodding.

"What's your name by the way?" She said, "If you're eventually going to get a wardrobe change, then Blue won't be fitting anymore."

"Nate," I replied, "And yours?"

"Piper Wright," The woman said, "And out there's my little sister Nat…..speaking of which she should be in school right now."

"Will she be alright if you leave her?" I asked.

"Sure," Piper replied, "When I'm not here, Pastor Clements across the street watches over her. He's good like that. Nat knows that I'm usually on a new story when I'm not around the shop. She can take care of the new story involving you. She'll just take it as extra credit on English."

"If you're sure," I replied, "Then okay. Just know, that you're not the only person wanting to travel with me Piper."

"Oh?" Piper spoke, "You that popular already?"

"Sort of," I replied, "There's Dogmeat of course, my dog. But there's also a man known as Preston Garvey who use to be the last Minuteman, and my old robot butler, Codsworth."

"What you got a team you putting together blue?" Piper asked.

"You could say that," I spoke, "Anyways, your sister mentioned someone by the name of Nick Valentine. He's a detective or something right?"

"Oh of course," Piper said slapping her forehead, "I forgot all about him. Come on. I'll show you where his office is."

The office was on third street, the one street I didn't go down. There were two residents working on a water pipe. "You gotta wonder," One of them said, "Does anyone ever fight back? The Institute has to have enemies right?"

"What?" The other said stopping what he was doing, "You mean the Railroad? That's a fairy tale man. They don't exist."

"Nah," The first spoke, "I heard from my cousin. He knows a guy that works for 'em. They got a code phrase and everything. _Follow the Freedom Trail_."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" The second said, "You're full of it, and that kind of talk is gonna get you snatched up by the synths."

"Everyone is scared of these Synths aren't they?" I asked Piper.

"You would be too if your loved one or best friend was replaced with a machine that looked exactly like them."

"True."

"Here we are," Piper said as we walked into the office.

"Told you your luck wouldn't last forever," I heard a woman say as we walked in. She was rummaging through some dressers and files around the office. "His ties..." She sighed, "Oh Nick."

"Something wrong?" I asked.

The woman sighed. "Another stray coming in from the rain," She said turning around and looking at me with frustration and sadness, "afraid you're too late. The Office's closed."

"I know you're busy," I replied, "but I won't take much of your time miss. It's important."

"You're right," The woman said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but the detective…..he's gone missing." My heart skipped a beat for a moment in fear. Did the Institute get him?

"Nicky's missing?" Piper asked concerned, "What has he gotten himself into this time?"

"Don't worry," I said immediately, "I can help. Tell me what happened."

She sighed. "Nick was working a case. Skinny Malone's Gang had kidnapped a young woman, and he tracked them down to their hideout in Park Street Station. There's an old Vault down there that they use as a base. I told Nick he was walking into a trap, but he just smiled and walked out the door like he always does."

"Who's this Skinny Malone character?" I asked.

"I don't know much about him," The woman said, "But he's from Goodneighbor, and that means he's in the well-pressed suits and machineguns school of thuggery."

"And Malone's from Goodneighbor?" I asked, "What's Goodneighbor?"

"Yeah," the secretary replied, "It's a tough neighborhood. Northeast a ways. People with power there care about two things: style and body count."

"Very well," I replied, "I'll find him. You have my word."

"Thank you," The secretary spoke relieved, "Nick should be easy to spot. He's always wearing that old hat and trench coat getup. Please. Hurry."

I nodded. Piper, Dogmeat and I walked out of the office. "So what's the plan blue?" Piper asked, "You going to go in and shoot up the place?"

"Not yet," I said sighing, "Raiders I can handle without much tactical thinking. But the guys who took Nick Valentine are organized. Raiders just shoot and hope for the best…..most of them. These guys sound trained, ruthless, and organized. I can't go in without backup."

"You're forgetting me blue," Piper said, "I can handle myself."

"That may be so," I replied, "But I need someone's who's also been in a firefight."

"I've been there," Piper retorted.

I sighed. "Fine," I spoke almost irritably, "We need ANOTHER person Piper."

"Jeez blue no need to bite my head off," Piper replied, "It's cute to see you get riled up."

I ignored her last comment. "We're going back to Sanctuary to enlist the aid of one of my Minutemen."

"Your Minutemen?" Piper spoke, "I heard they were returning. Are you leading them?"

"Yeah," I replied, "We're just in our beginnings. I'm working on organizing us once we have more recruits."

"I see," Piper replied, "So you know the history of the Minutemen and all of that?"

"I know what happened as far as Quincy goes," I replied, "Preston Garvey, told me. He was the last of the Minutemen who still thought that he could make a difference. He was right. We're going to unite the Commonwealth Piper. One way or another. There is also another golden opportunity. I came across a group called the Brotherhood of Steel."

"The Brotherhood of Steel is here in the Commonwealth?" Piper asked.

"Just a scouting party for now," I replied, "I'm helping them out once I rescue Nick. I don't want to be behind on my promise to them."

"And what was that?" Piper asked.

"I promised them to help scout out a building to find something that will enable them to get in touch with their superiors."

"But aren't the Brotherhood a bunch of Technology worshipping loonies?" Piper asked.

"From what I have gathered," I replied, "They collect as much salvageable tech as they can get, so humanity doesn't destroy itself again."

"I don't know Blue," Piper spoke, "Haven't met them personally, but a lot of people say they've changed since they defeated the Enclave in the Capital Wasteland. I don't know how, but they have."

"I see," I replied, "I'll come to terms with that when I get there. For now, are you ready to head up North?"

"Sure," Piper said, "Let me just say goodbye to Nat."

The trip back to Sanctuary took one and a half days. We stopped at Oberland Station during nightfall learning that the settlement had two new members already. One was acting as security, the other as a scavenger. They had built a wooden foundation that was held up by poles. With the steep incline from the train tracks to the corner of the garden, they had to make due. It seemed that the settlers at Oberland station were going to build a small shack atop the foundations and have stairs leading up to the only door to the shack. I didn't even question it. But all of us sleeping in the tower sure made it crowded. Dogmeat slept under the bed. The next morning, my group left and arrived in Sanctuary, though I made a pit stop at the wrecked train. The Power armor frame was still there as well as the armor pieces that were safely in their crates.

"Wow blue," Piper spoke, "How'd you know this was here?"

"I came through a couple days ago," I replied, "Noticed this baby earlier. It looks in good condition too." I'm going to try and hack into the computer terminal that unlocks the cage. Might take a while though." I had already begun hacking the terminal.

"Oh take your time," Pipe replied with a hint of sarcasm, "We're only out here in the open and it is perfectly safe."

"Well," I said equally sarcastic, "I'm sure you can throw that pistol of yours at them if you get scared enough. You do know how to shoot that thing right?"

"How did you know I had a pistol?" She said, "It's concealed."

"I watched you when you were changing," I replied simply.

"You WHAT?"

"Nah I wouldn't do that," I said laughing, "You wear one where my wife wore her concealed pistol before the war, right on the right hip. Kind of hard to miss it when you're a trained soldier."

She didn't say anything. "Oh you're good," Piper said after a few moments, "You know how to rile up a girl don't ya?"

"Of course," I answered finally breaking the code, "ironic. The keyword for hacking this damn thing was _Unlock_."

"You serious?" Piper asked.

"Yep," I replied clicking the button and watching the gates unlock. I walked over and pulled them open, which was kind of a loud metallic creak. I inspected the Power Armor frame. "Good thing the frame doesn't rust. It's in good condition."

"That's great blue," Piper said slightly nervous, "really great."

"Have you ever been out this way before Piper?" I asked opening up the armor crates.

"No," Piper replied, "After Nat and I settled in Diamond City, we didn't really visit too many other places except Bunker Hill."

"The old Monument?" I asked noting that the power armor pieces were in good condition, "My wife and I visited there a couple times before the war. Nice place."

"Well now it's the central hub for the Caravans," Piper replied, "A lot of stuff can be bought and sold there."

"Well okay then," I replied, "I'll probably get around to visiting that eventually." I got into the Power armor and strapped everything to the back of it with rope with the help of Piper. Before I could take off my power armor, I'd have to unstrap everything from my back.

The gates had been put up and the perimeter fence was almost complete. Preston was walking the riverside when we crossed the bridge. He spotted us as we crossed the bridge from the riverside meeting us at the gate.

"Good evening General," Preston spoke," Who's this?"

"Piper Wright," I replied, "She's a friend I met up in Diamond City."

"Piper huh?" Preston spoke, "I've heard some interesting things about you. You're a reporter correct?"

"Indeed I am," Piper replied, "But my expertise is the Institute."

"So I've heard," Preston replied, "I hope your skills include shooting that gun on your side."

"I can handle myself," Piper replied.

"We'll see," Preston spoke slightly skeptical, "General. I see you've got another set of Power Armor. Any reason why?"

"For a good reason," I replied, "Once we get it up and running, we're going to break someone out of a Vault."

"Huh?" Preston asked.

"You heard," I replied, "I'm going to need your help rescuing someone, or to at least see if he's still alive."

"And who might that be?"

"His name is Nick Valentine," Piper spoke.

"I've heard of him," Preston spoke, "Supposed to be a detective or something?"

"That's Nicky," Piper replied.

"The point is," I spoke, "He can help me find my son."

"I see," Preston said, "Say no more sir. I'll help. What is it you need me to do?"

"I'll tell you in a few."

We walked over to the workshop. Sturges was working on two new turrets. "Wow," He said as I walked in, "What do we have here?"

"Something good Sturges," I replied, "Help" me unstrap these parts would ya?"

"Sure boss," Sturges replied and helped me unstrap everything, "These are some mighty fine pieces of armor you got here boss. Speaking of which, I got some blueprints for you too for T45b and T45c power armor pieces. Went back to that Vertibird on top the Museum of Freedom and found some things. I found a compartment full of Prewar Military Gear. These blueprints, another Minigun, and 8,000 rounds of ammunition for it."

"Damn," I replied impressed.

"I know right?" Sturges spoke, "There's so much in that town we can scavenge. Last time we were there, we didn't even look through any of the buildings. You reckon we can put together a scavengin' team?"

"Let's hold off on that for now," I replied, "How soon will those turrets be up and running?"

"I'm just tweaking their targeting parameters," Sturges said, "Then they'll be ready. Why?"

"I need Preston's help," I replied, "I don't want to leave you all defenseless here."

"Don't worry about us boss," Sturges replied, "We'll be alright. Besides, we got Codsworth."

"Yeah," I replied laughing, "Listen Sturges, I need your help really quick. You and Codsworth."

"On what?" Sturges asked. I only grinned.

We began to modify the Power armor from A to C grade armor and adding Recon Sensors to the Power Helmets as well as brighter LED Headlamps. Both were also given a titanium plating, and the Minutemen Symbol on the front. We also attached a better weapon holster on the back and magazine holsters on the left leg. On the right leg was a pouch and another holster that would house our side arm and ammunition. It took us several hours into the night to finish the two up. Our mission was going to be in a vault. We were going to walk right on in, guns blazing if we had too.

"It's a good thing too," Piper said after she heard my plan, "Nick went to Vault 114 in Park Street Station. That's Triggerman Territory."

"Can you tell me more about these Triggermen? I asked, "What are they like? What's their purpose?"

"Ever heard of the Prewar Mafia?" Piper asked, "That's the image they strive for. Bunch of no good baddies who are one grade above the scum of the earth."

"They're pretty much like raiders," Preston spoke, "though they're more civilized. It doesn't mean they won't put a bullet in your head if they get the chance though. They're old fashioned Gangsters."

"So shoot first ask questions later?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Piper spoke.

"I like it," I replied grinning, "We leave for Park Street Station tomorrow morning."

"Awesome," Sturges said yawning, "Because it's one in the morning and I'm tired."

"One last thing Sturges," I spoke, "I heard people listen to the Radio. Wanna build an old Radio beacon to keep busy? I'll pre-record a message for those listening in."

"You doing that now?"

"Might as well," I replied. While everyone went to sleep, I stayed up and recorded a holotape that could be placed in the Beacon's holotape player. "Any Wastelander needing a home, ghoul or not, we welcome you here at Sanctuary. We do not tolerate crime here, we are peaceful and are under the protection of the Minutemen. Anyone wishing to join the Minutemen, must meet with the General or Preston Garvey. Sanctuary is here to stay, as such we will need certain individuals who can pull their own weight. We do not take in freeloaders. Everyone has a job, in exchange for protection."

I left that on one of the workbenches before getting some sleep, Dogmeat of course taking his spot near my bed. Piper bunked on one of the couches. The next morning, I got up and watched everyone get to work save Preston and Piper. They were busy completing the arc of protective fencing around Sanctuary. The only place that wouldn't be fortified was the riverside where the prewar concrete acted as a barrier. Near there, was a water Purifier that Sturges had put up. Sturges was busy constructing the radio beacon tower. That'd keep him busy all day. Everyone else would finish building the walls, which should be complete by the night.

"I do wish I could accompany you sir," Codsworth spoke, "You're all I have left of the old days."

"Maybe next time Codsworth," I replied patting the Mr. Handy on his round chasis, "These people need someone to watch over them. Besides, you and Sturges get along great right? Give him a hand, like you did last night."

"Very Well sir," Codsworth replied, "Good luck finding Shaun."

"Thank you," I replied. In truth, I scared of losing Codsworth. He was all I had left of my life beforehand. I didn't want to see him shot up or anything of such.

"You two ready?" I asked Piper and Preston. Dogmeat tilted his head then barked, "Yes you're included on our trip buddy."

"As ready as I'll ever be," Piper spoke hoisting her own backpack.

"Say the word," Preston spoke.

"Let's suit up," I finalized. I stepped into my power armor, while Preston did the same. We geared up, attaching our miniguns to our backs, then strapped on an oversized backpack to each other. With everything ready to go, we moved out. We decided to travel to Back Street Apparel first, letting that be our stop for the day. Preston walked inside and made sure the store was clear of any hostiles before we settled down on the rooftop for the night. We sat around a fire barrel, our Power Armor outside of the circle of us.

"So what's your story General?" Preston spoke as we all ate some of our rations, "You said you lived in The Commonwealth before the bombs hit. What was it like back then?"

"Peaceful around these parts," I spoke, "It was busy, more people, more greenery. Everyone was just trying to make a living. Martial law was enacted a couple months before the bombs fell. The Military had control of everything, which was good because people were getting paranoid. I grew up on a farm and hunted a lot. Before long, I ended up moving to Boston where I met my wife. Married her, joined the military, came back, had a kid, and then the day the bombs fell, we were admitted into a Vault. After that, well…..you know the rest. I want to find my son. At the moment, that is my priority. And finding the son of a bitch who killed his mother and kidnapped him." The two could tell that I was livid over this fact. That's why I was going to find Nick Valentine. If anyone could find Shaun, it would be him. Or, he was someone who could help me.

The next morning, we all moved further up the road on our way to Park Street Station. There was only one incident that required action. That was against a Super Mutant which wielded a Missile Launcher atop a pedestrian walkway above the highway. "Think you can hit him from here?" I asked Preston who had a Laser Musket as his sidearm.

"Yeah," Preston spoke cranking up his laser musket, "I'll go four cranks. Hopefully that'll work, because that's all I got for a charge." He looked into the scope and fired. The laser bolt hit the supermutant in the chest causing it to topple over the side of the railing. It landed on its head with a sickening crack. Preston whistled.

We inspected the area where the Super Mutant was and its small camp above the street. I picked up the Missile Launcher and strapped it to my back. Dogmeat would carry the missiles. Soon after that we continued down the road and took a right at the Charles View Amphitheatre to come up on Boston Common.

"General," Preston spoke, "Boston Common has a bad reputation, particularly the park. I don't know why, but people don't come back after they get to close to the pond."

"Something about a swan," Piper added, "There are signs up as well."

"We're not here for a swan," I replied, "So no need to go into the pond. That's where we are going." I pointed at the entrance of Park Street Station. As we walked passed the Massachusetts State House, I looked over into the park near the Gazebo and at the swan boat house. I remembered what felt like months ago, Nora and I there. It was the night in which Nora was impregnated. I kept my emotions under wraps. No matter how many times I had good memories come up, they all ended with a baby crying, a hoarse voice, and a gunshot.

It's a good thing we went Park Street Station in with Power Armor because the Triggermen shot at us on sight. Piper and Dogmeat took cover while Preston and I shot our side arms at the first few in the metro entrance. "Piper," I spoke as I reloaded my 10mm pistol, "Chances are, there are more where they came from. Instead of fighting, how about you and Dogmeat start collecting gear? Dogmeat's backpack can hold a lot of items. He's a strong dog. If he gets to where it's a burden, then grab some gear yourself and put it in one of our backpacks, okay? Weapons, ammo, food, caps? Anything. It'll only help the Minutemen's cause. It saves us from having to buy weapons through vendors."

"Sure," Piper said inspecting the damage of the firefight, "Think I'll sit this one out. You guys can handle it.

Preston and I made our way through the metro station and down to the metro tracks where there were several Triggermen waiting for us. There had to be more than fifty. It was time for the big guns. We pulled out our miniguns as we were pelted with 10mm grade handguns and Submachine guns. The submachine guns at least managed to put minor dents that were barely noticeable into our Power armor. We unloaded a hail of bullets in the station, clearing it in seconds. We walked down the metro tracks and cleared any Triggermen outside of the Vault door. Piper and Dogmeat were working overtime as they collected items of importance and loaded us down with a lot of it. I started noticing many Vault-Tec storage containers outside the Vault door.

"I wonder if these were left out of the Vault before the Triggermen took control of it," I spoke to Preston, "And I wonder if this Vault had an experiment going on like mine."

"Yours was freezing people right?" Preston asked.

"They were testing the long-term effects of people subjected to Cryo-stasis," I replied as Piper strapped several Submachine guns together in a bundle, then put them in my backpack, "we were never meant to be thawed out. But someone thawed me out and killed the others."

"That's everything I can think of so far," Piper replied, "You get to hold the weapons and Preston gets to hold the ammo. I'll keep the caps on me for now. We got over a thousand at least."

"Not a bad haul so far," I said impressed, "Listen, I'm about to open this door. Take cover somewhere and follow in behind. I'm warning you though. The Vault Door's loud as fuck."

"Gotcha," Piper replied.

And when the loud ass Vault 114 door opened, Preston and I used our side arms to kill the two Triggermen that were in the entrance. We continued onto the next area down into the Vault killing two more Triggermen in a long service hallway right before a construction area that didn't have the insulated halls of Vault-Tech. It was like a cavern with pipes and walkways. The Triggermen there too met their demise. When we got to a service hatch to the lower levels of the Vault, I jumped down landing harshly on the ground knocking a random Triggerman off his feet before picking him up with one hand and choking him to death. I let his lifeless corpse fall. "Dogmeat jump!" I ordered my dog. He whined before jumping off the top. I caught him and put him down. "Come on down you two."

"Hang tight Piper," Preston said picking her up in his arms then jumping down. Piper actually screamed a bit at the fall.

"Warn a girl next time," She told him.

"Sorry," Preston said, "You would have broken a leg if you jumped down by yourself."

"Alright let's keep going," I spoke.

Eventually, we got into the Atrium where a Lone Triggerman stood above talking to someone. We kept quiet listening in. "How you doing in there Valentine?" The man said tauntingly, "Cozy in there? Want a snack?"

"Keep talking meathead!" A voice said on the other side. This guy sounded like my kind of guy, "You'll give Skinny Malone more time to think about how he's going to bump you off."

"Don't give me that crap Valentine," the Triggerman said, "You know nothin', you got nothin'."

"Really?" Valentine challenged, "I saw him writin' your name down in that black book of his. _Lousy, cheating, card shark,_ I think were his exact words. Then struck your name across three times."

"Three strikes?" The man said sounding terrified, "In the Black Book? But I never…Oh no…..I-I gotta smooth this over! Fast!" He ran away from the window and down to our level only to stop right in front of us. "Oh shit." I shot him in the head with my N99. Out of his hand dropped a note.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Preston spoke.

"Meh," I shrugged picking up what he dropped, "It's a password to the Overseer's office." We walked up the stairs and looked into the window.

"Hey you!" The man said. He wore a fedora and a trench coat; his upper face hidden, "I don't know who you are but we got about three minutes before they realize muscles for brain's aint coming back. Get this door open!"

"Hang on a second," I replied nodding. I opened the said door. I was thrown off by what awaited me. The man looked human….but not. He was a robot of some sort with golden glowing eyes. He wasn't human.

"Ah my knights in shining armor," The man said lighting a cigar and putting it in his/its mouth, "Question is, why do they come all this way to risk life and limb, for an old Private Eye?"

"What….are you?" I asked.

"Told you," The robot said slightly annoyed and almost as if he's answered it many times before, "I'm a detective. Look, I know the skin and metal parts ain't comforting, but it's not important right now. The only thing that matters is why you went through all this trouble cutting me loose."

I decided to try and calm the him/it and explain. "I need you to find someone…." I said, "But….it's complicated. I don't know exactly where they could be, or how long they've been gone."

"Well I've done jobs with less," the robot said shrugging, "somehow _nice and simple_ never makes it onto the menu in my world. I've been cooped up in here for weeks. Turns out the runaway daughter I came here to find wasn't kidnapped. She's skinny Malone's new flame, and she's got a mean streak. Anyway, you got troubles, and I'm glad to help. But now ain't the time. Let's blow this joint. Then we'll talk."

"Hey Nick!" Piper said finally catching up.

"Piper what are you doing here?" Nick asked stopping.

"Helping some new friends," Piper replied smirking, "and saving your metal butt." I just remembered that the description of Nick Valentine was never revealed to me. How the hell did it go unmentioned that he was a frickin' robot of some sort? An advanced one at that.

"This day just keeps getting weirder," Nick replied mostly to himself, "Whatever, I'm just going to go with it."

"Nice to see you too Valentine," Piper said sarcastically.

"Sorry Piper," Nick said, "let's just leave already. I'm tired of being cooped up." He led the way. "Malone's crew here used to be small time, muscled out of the old neighborhood by bigger players. Until they found this place. Don't know what happened to the previous owners, but they're not exactly around to charge rent. An empty Vault. Perfect hideout."

"I guess so," I replied.

"Hey Nate," Piper spoke as we walked down to the bottom of the atrium, "I found where they've been storing their stash of weapons and caps. Right on the bottom floor of this room."

"Hold up," Nick said quieting us, "I hear some of them coming. My ears don't deceive me. How do you want to play this?"

"Like this," I replied pulling out my minigun.

"I like you guys already," Nick said. There were several Triggermen coming through the door way, only to be mowed down by Preston from the second floor and myself from the door. When it was all said and done, Preston vaulted over the railing and landed on the floor. "Hard and loud huh? Good way to get things done. Feel sorry for whoever has to clean up the floors.

"No one else is going to set foot in here when we leave," I replied, "so it won't matter." I was going to override the Vault door to only open to my Pipboy. "Piper?"

"On it boss." With that, she cleaned the room of ammo and caps while we continued.

"This door is on the fritz," Nick said, "Let me see if I can get it open." He started messing with the circuits to the door. "Almost got it…..there we are." The door opened right up. "Helluva lot easier to do it when the lock isn't on the other side." We fought our way through several rooms.

"More stairs?" Nick said as we walked up one of a thousand stairs in the said vault, "Who built this damned Vault? A fitness instructor?"

"You act like you're getting a workout on Nick," Piper said with sarcasm, "you have no muscles remember?"

"Oh shut up," Nick said. After a while, the walk was silent until Nick spoke to us as walked up another flight of stairs. "Skinny Malone and the rest of his boys are waiting for us somewhere. The name's, uh….Ironic, but don't let that fool ya. He's dangerous."

"We can take him." I said.

"I have no doubt about that," Nick said, "Look, I'm going to try to get that bimbo of his to come to her senses, and go home. Don't shoot them straight away. In fact, stay on this side of this door until you think I need you. I may not look it, but I'm more durable than the average robot."

"Very well," I replied nodding.

"Let me get this door unlocked," He said fiddling with it, "I can hear fat footsteps and a lot more than just him. Once we step through this door, get ready for anything." We took shelter on either side of the door while Nick walked out.

"Nicky!" I heard a man say, "What are ya doin'? Ya come into my house. Shoot up my guys? You have any idea how much this is going to set me back?"

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your two timin' dame Skinny," Nick shot back, "You ought to tell her to write home more often."

"Aw…." An annoying female voice spoke, "Poor little Valentine. Ashamed you got beat up by a girl? I'll just run back home to daddy, shall I?"

"Nick got beaten by a girl?" Piper muttered, "He always did have a soft spot for damsel's in distress."

"Should have left that alone Nicky," Skinny spoke, "This ain't the old neighborhood. In this Vault, I'm king of the castle. Ya hear me? And I ain't lettin' some private dick, shut us down now that I finally got a good thing goin'."

"I told you we should have just killed him!" Darla grouched, "but then you had to get all sentimental. All that stupid crap about the _old times_."

"Darla I'm handling this!" Skinny argued back, "Skinny Malone's always got things under control." He had no idea how wrong he was."

"Oh yeah?" Darla spoke, "How do you think Valentine got out huh? Help from the inside or someone else who's gonna rub us all out like the others who were dead when we got here? Let me tell ya Nick, no one's making me go anywhere. Not even your friends if you got any down here."

"It doesn't matter," Skinny said, "Now I gotta get rid of ya Nicky. Boys, kill 'em!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Nick said, "Timeout. Look's like your chance just went out the door Skinny."

"Shut up!" Skinny growled, "It's thirty against one recycled tin can. What do you think you can do?"

"When you're on death's bed," Nick spoke, "Don't say I didn't warn ya." Preston and I nodded towards one another and walked out the Door wielding our Miniguns against at least thirty Triggermen, Malone, and Darla.

"Open fire!" Skinny yelled in panic. Nick took cover, rolling to the side behind a stack of Vault-Tec crates. Preston and I mowed them all down with ease.

"So much for Skinny Malone," Nick spoke, "You think he's lighter or heavier with all those bullet holes? The bullets probably added a few ounces. Good night sweet prince. Here's to all the old days."

"Well that was fun," I commented, "How's this going to affect your previous job?"

"It's going to be an awkward conversation with Darla's parents when I tell them that their daughter bit the big one," Nick spoke, "Well at least the case is closed. Let's get out of here. There's a service ladder that should take us right to the surface."

"Hang on Nick," I spoke as we walked out the Vault, "I'm closing up the Vault. Might need it later on. Dogmeat hurry up boy." Dogmeat who was smelling Skinny Malone's corpse walked out with the rest of us. I attached my Pipboy to the terminal then used it to set a code only this pipboy could crack, then closed the door.

"What're you going to use it for?" Nick asked, "A big vault like that?

"Exactly what it sounds like," I replied, "A Vault. Its impenetrable door makes it a perfect base or supply cache for our cause."

"And what exactly is your cause?" Nick asked.

"We're the minutemen," Preston spoke, "A group who's going to unify the Commonwealth once more. To make it a better place for everyone."

"Well that's a goal worth striving for," Nick said, "Question is, how're you going to do it? Last I heard, the Minutemen have all but disbanded. Everyone heard about what happened back in Quincy. You all had a schism."

"We're rebuilding the Minutemen," I spoke up, "Preston here seems to think that I can lead them."

"Can you?" Nick questioned.

"We'll find out," I replied, "It's working out so far. But then again we're only getting started. We're also going to have to go back through Park Street Station Nick. Preston and I are in Power Armor. I doubt we'd fit through the hatch above."

"You're right about that," Nick replied, "Okay then. It'll be a longer walk. But hey, exercise doesn't really concern me."

"Well some of us needs it so we don't end up like Skinny Malone," Piper said with sarcasm.

"Oh stop it," Nick said as we walked through the station, "You have a terrific figure Piper. A lot of women these days are worried about their weight and not their skills to stay alive. That's why they meet their demise very early. So you got that going for ya."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult," Piper said.

"Take it anyway that suits you best sweetheart," Nick said, "The point is, you're alive and that's all that matters."

"Nick Valentine," Piper said with sarcasm, "always the charmer, in his own way."

We walked out the entrance of Park Street Station realizing that it was the middle of the night. "Damn," Nick said, "I don't think we want to leave in the middle of the night especially right now."

"Why's that?" Preston asked.

"Apart from every other thing out in the Commonwealth that wants to rip people to shreds," Nick asked, "It's-" Something heavy hit the ground in the park. "Get back inside now. I didn't think he'd be active so early in the night. Someone must have woke him up."

"Woke who up?" Preston asked as we hurried back inside.

"Swan," Nick said, "The resident Super Mutant Behemoth. He's far from harmless, like any other Super Mutant. A Behemoth is the oldest of their kind, much bigger too. They use fire hydrants on poles for weapons. Swan uses the boat parts and an anchor as a weapon and armor. Anyone that comes around the Boston Common is safe unless they get to close to his pond. He guards it religiously and takes care of the park's greenery, what's left of it."

"Where was he today then?" I asked, "We didn't see any super mutants out there earlier today."

"He's usually sleeping or laying down in his pond resting up," Nick said, "But only in the day time. I don't know why, but he's really only active pass midnight to just before the sun rises. If he's out and about before or after that, someone's pissed him off. There was a loud roar that sounded like _swan_ that echoed off the buildings above and something hitting one of the buildings. There were shouts and gunfire which were silenced after something big hit the ground. "There goes that guy."

"You think we can take him?" I asked.

"No chance in hell," Nick replied, "Not unless you got a Fat Man or Quad-Missile Launcher. We're best off waiting until the big brute's gone back to his pond. Might as well stay down here for the night."

"Fine," I spoke, "But I'm getting a look at this Behemoth in a minute."

"You got a death wish?" Nick asked me as Preston unloaded my backpack from my Power Armor.

"No," I replied, "If I get the chance to analyze any potential threat I can, I will. It's biology, intelligence, behavior, motives, anything that will let me take it down or tame it."

"Well you can't tame a Super Mutant," Nick retorted, "They hate humans."

"I'm not planning to," I said stepping out of my power armor, "I just want to know how to kill it." I made my way up the stairs once more and crept out the door into Boston Commons. It was dark, but that didn't stop me from looking for the beast. I found it sitting on the dock of the swan boat house, its legs swung over in the pond. It was definitely bigger than any other super mutant, easily taller than one of the houses back in Sanctuary if it stood up on ground level. The creature seemed to be enjoying the pond. It just stared down into the water swishing its massive hand in it. Its armor was of swan boat parts. It grumbled looked up at the night sky. Everything about this creature, whether it was a super mutant or not, was exaggerated. Super Mutants were depicted as hateful beings who killed anything not one of them and had no signs of humanity in them. But I could look at this massive mutant and tell that there was something left in it. I looked around the pond noticing how neat and kept up it looked. The damned mutant made sure it was taken care of. _It only attacks when you get to close to the pond_ , I remembered Nick's words. That's because it was its home. And like anyone else who had visitors disrespecting or coming in someone's home uninvited, it defended it angrily. I would not kill this creature. There is no point. All it wanted, was to defend its pond.

I stood up from the bush I was behind. It immediately spotted me and growled. I backed away towards the station entrance still facing the Behemoth. It tilted its head slightly. I left its line of sight. Peeking around the corner of the building I saw that it resumed its menial task of stirring water with this hand. I went back down to the station where Nick and Piper were catching up. "Not much more to tell Nick," Piper said, "Other than Nat misses you."

"I'll be sure to say hi when we get home then," Nick replied then looked at me, "Slay the beast already have we?"

"No," I replied sitting down on a bench, "There's no need to."

"Why's that?"

"Because we're not going to invade its home," I replied, "Stay away from the pond, it'll leave you alone."

"How'd you come up with that?"

"A mutual understanding of one's rights."

….


End file.
